LIVE Webcam Brings You Inside Cheetah Den With 5 Tiny Cubs Tended By Mom (WATCH and LISTEN).
The Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute opened a live webcam inside the den of Zura, a 5-year-old cheetah, so the public can watch her five newborn cubs.
The Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute has put a live camera inside the den of a cheetah named Zura. She is 5 years old, and her five cubs were born Oct. 5, 2026, at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI) in Front Royal, Virginia.
According to the Zoo, the stream is the same feed its animal care staff use to monitor the cheetah family remotely. Online viewers get a look inside the den through the same feed.
The Zoo explains that cubs born at SCBI have limited human contact early in life, unlike animals living at the Zoo in Washington, D.C. It says this approach helps the cubs bond with their mother. It also lets staff carry out types of behavioral research that are not possible in a zoo habitat.
The page lists several behaviors viewers may notice. Newborn cubs spend most of their first weeks asleep and may appear piled together. Zura nurses the cubs several times a day. Cheetahs groom themselves and one another to stay clean and strengthen social bonds. Cubs also wrestle, which the Zoo says helps them build coordination, strength and social skills they will need as adults. They communicate with soft chirps, gentle meows and tiny purrs.
The Zoo ties the cam to its conservation work. It states that fewer than 7,000 cheetahs remain in the wild, and that each birth offers hope for the species. The page also links to related stories, including a spinal surgery on a cheetah cub that used 3D modeling and a genetic analysis that settled the parentage of another litter.
At a Glance
- Zura, a 5-year-old cheetah, gave birth to five cubs on Oct. 5, 2026.
- The cubs were born at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Front Royal, Virginia.
- The cam feed is the same one animal care staff use to monitor the family remotely.
- Fewer than 7,000 cheetahs remain in the wild, according to the Zoo.
Sources
This brief was written by Brightside Report from the reporting linked above. Spot an error? Request a correction.