Guests attending Dickerson Park Zoo’s gender reveal party on June 20 were sprayed with pink and blue silly string to announce the sex of the cheetah triplets born May 2.
The cubs, named Wally, Glenn and Maggie, and mother, Roni, are still off exhibit to allow for plenty of bonding time.
Zoo veterinarian Dr. Rodney Schnellbacher recently gave the cubs their first exam. “They will have a follow up exam in about two weeks, but everything looks good,” he said.
Cheetahs, an endangered species, have been identified as one of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ SAFE (Saving Animals from Extinction) Signature Species.
“There are less than 10,000 cheetahs in the wild and around 300 in AZA accredited zoos,” said zookeeper Sheila Samek. “We are very proud to be one of the zoos to help this population grow.”