WASHINGTON (AP) — Two cheetah cubs have been transported to the Smithsonian's National Zoo to be raised by hand after a risky birth last month at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in northern Virginia. When the cubs' mother, 5-year-old Ally, gave birth to the first cub in late April, problems quickly developed. Ally is a first-time mother and abandoned the first cub. Then Ally's labor stopped, even though she had three more cubs waiting to be born. Zoo veterinarians performed an emergency cesarean section and saved one more cub and the cheetah mother. Two other cubs died. Now the zoo is offering a first look at the genetically valuable surviving cubs in their new home Wednesday. The zoo is part of an effort to save this endangered species where "every cat counts."
DC zoo to hand-raise cubs after rare cheetah birth
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After a feeding, cheetah keeper Gil Myers cleans a one-month-old female cheetah cub, that was delivered via a rare caesarean section, Wednesday, May 23, 2012, at the National Zoo in Washington. The cub and her brother are expected to go on public display in the late summer. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
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A one-month-old female cheetah cub has her face cleaned by cheetah keeper Gil Myers at the National Zoo in Washington, Wednesday, May 23, 2012, after being fed milk from a bottle. Two cheetah cubs have been transported to the Smithsonian's National Zoo to be raised by hand after a risky birth three weeks ago at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in northern Virginia. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
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After being fed milk from a bottle, a one-month-old female cheetah cub, that was delivered via a rare caesarian section, has her face cleaned by cheetah keeper Gil Myers at the National Zoo in Washington, Wednesday, May 23, 2012. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
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Cheetah keeper Gil Myers holds a one-month-old female cheetah cub, at the National Zoo in Washington, Wednesday, May 23, 2012, that was delivered via a rare caesarian section. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
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After being fed milk from a bottle, a one-month-old female cheetah cub, that was delivered via a rare caesarian section, has her face cleaned by cheetah keeper Gil Myers at the National Zoo in Washington, Wednesday, May 23, 2012. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
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A one-month-old female cheetah cub, that was delivered via a rare cesarean section, gets her tiny claws stuck on cheetah keeper Gil Myers' glove as she is bottle fed milk at the National Zoo in Washington, Wednesday, May 23, 2012. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
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A one-month-old female cheetah cub, left, that was delivered via a rare cesarean section, is sniffed by her brother, who was delivered normally, Wednesday, May 23, 2012, at the National Zoo in Washington. The cubs are expected to go on public view at the end of the summer. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
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A one-month-old female cheetah cub, that was delivered via a rare cesarean section, licks kitten food off a spatula at the National Zoo in Washington, Wednesday, May 23, 2012. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
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A one-month-old female cheetah cub, left, delivered via a rare caesarian section, and her brother, right, delivered naturally but then abandoned by their mother, are held by their keepers after a feeding at the National Zoo in Washington, Wednesday, May 23, 2012. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
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A one-month-old female cheetah cub, left, delivered via a rare caesarian section, and her brother, delivered naturally but then abandoned, lick off what's left of their meals after a feeding at the National Zoo in Washington, Wednesday, May 23, 2012. The cubs are expected to go on public view in late summer. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
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