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Azula and her brother, Zuko, were born at the Yulee animal conservatory on April 5. The fire sign felines are its fourth generation of cheetahs.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Make sure to wish a happy belated purr-thday to White Oak’s newborn cheetah cubs, Azula and Zuko!
Two baby cheetahs, one male and female cub, were born at the White Oak Conservation on April 5. The animal conservatory announced their birthday this week on its social media pages.
White Oak Conservation says Azula and her brother, Zuko, were born to Ruffles, who is a first-time mom.
The fire-sign felines, who coincidentally have the same names as the fire-bending siblings from the Nickelodeon television series “Avatar: The Last Airbender,” are healthy and “full of energy” according to the conservation.
The siblings love to play chase with each other and jump on mom, according to the nonprofit’s Instagram page.
Despite the speed that makes them such fearsome hunters in the wild, an average cheetah’s life span in the wild is only up to 14 years. (says who?)
Cubs are especially vulnerable to becoming prey, habitat loss, fragmentation and land-use change, experts say.
Conflict with humans, particularly retaliatory killings and Black Market pet trading, is also a serious threat these big cats face, according to a cat specialist group.
Thankfully, at White Oak, the cubs are expected to live up to 20, according to National Geographic.
Cheetahs have been a prioritized species for the conservation since 1985, according to White Oak.
In almost four decades, the animal conservatory says 190 cheetah cubs were born at the secluded 17,000-acre wildlife refuge along the St. Marys River.
These cubs represent the fourth generation of cheetahs born in the animal conservatory, according to its Facebook.
Mom, Ruffles, and grandma, Karamel, still remain at the conservation where they were born, as reported by the Times-Union.
“Their births help to ensure that cheetahs will remain on the planet for now and hopefully years to come,” White Oak said.
Also, fun fact, cheetahs purr but can’t roar.
Yet, we can’t help but say, “aww!” to these cute cubs!
