5 cheetah cubs born in rare C-section procedure at Cincinnati Zoo

Cincinnati Zoo officials say five cheetah cubs born after a rare C-section procedure are getting around-the-clock critical care in the zoo’s nursery.

The zoo’s director of animal health says it’s only the third C-section he has been involved with and his first on a cheetah.

The Cincinnati Enquirer reports the three male and two female cubs were born March 8 at the zoo’s cheetah breeding facility in Clermont County.

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Just over 50 cheetah cubs have been born there since it opened in 2002.

Zoo officials say the cheetahs’ immune systems are not developed very well and they’re not able to actively fight off infections.

The cubs will stay in the nursery for at least eight weeks.