Cheetah cubs make first appearance at Safari Park

Four cheetah cubs born last October have been out of public view because of the COVID closing of the

.

But it's open now, and the curious, hand-raised cubs are eager to show visitors their stuff.

The two with darker markings are rare King Cheetahs. Although all cheetahs are endangered, the King Cheetahs' variation is particularly unusual.

"So we have Solomon, who's our male King Cheetah, Shani is our female king, and then we do have their grandmother Mona Lisa on property as well, so that's where they got that recessive gene from," explained Liz Doiron, the Cheetah Keeper. "So they are the only three King Cheetahs in the United States. So not only was this our first ever litter of cheetahs born here, which was extremely exciting, but to have two king cubs born was a big accomplishment as well."

The cubs enjoy interacting with visitors at the park.