Six sweet cheetah pups in Wilhelma: Niara inspires fans!

Six sweet cheetah pups in Wilhelma: Niara inspires fans!

Wilhelma Stuttgart, Deutschland - The Wilhelma in Stuttgart recently has a gratifying reason for the celebration: Pardin Niara gave birth to six healthy young animals at the end of April 2025. The only seven -year -old Niara gave birth to her litter in a specially prepared litter box. At the beginning of June, the little ones started to take their first steps out of the protection of their litter box and explore the world outside.

niara and her descendants live in a redesigned former polar bear. Wilhelma's zookeepers attentively observe how the young animals develop. Wilhelma director Dr. Thomas Kölpin emphasizes the importance of this birth and all subsequent breeding in order to build up a reserve population of the endangered type of cheetah. Revolently, their natural habitats are at great jeopardy due to latter loss and conflicts with cattle shepherds. Dr. Kölpin emphasizes that Wilhelma also supports a project in Namibia. This project focuses on the training of herd protection dogs to reduce conflicts between shepherds and cheetahs.

The challenges of the cheetah

In order to meet the challenges of breeding, Wilhelma has set up two separate cheetahs: one for Niara and one for the brothers Zawadi and Haraka. The exchange of animals plays a central role in conservation breeding. This is funded by initiatives such as the European Endangered Species Programs (EEP), which has been offering an important platform for animal exchange and breeding coordination since its foundation in 1985. In recent years, Zoos have worked more closely together worldwide to stop the continuous decline in endangered species. Planet Knowledge indicates that compliance with standards to avoid inbreeding is of crucial importance.

future prospects for endangered species

The importance of offspring programs cannot be assessed high enough. These programs are not only crucial for the preservation of species, they also offer educational and research opportunities for the needs and protection of rare animals. EAZA (European Association of Zoos and Aquaria) has established itself as a leading organization for the coordination of these programs in 1992 by determining the standards for attitude and care and ensuring that the animals are offered the best possible conditions in human care.

Wilhelma has taken another important step in its mission to maintain species and animal welfare with the recent litter of Niara. The animals in the zoos are not only attractions for visitors, but also ambassadors for nature conservation and the preservation of their traditional habitats.