Longleat cheetah cubs venture outside for the first time

Four adorable cheetah cubs have been racing each other outside for the first time at Wiltshire's Longleat Safari Park.

The quartet were nervous at first staying close to mum Wilma but soon grew in confidence.

The group were born in August, and are the largest number of cubs ever raised at Longleat, and one of the biggest litters successfully reared in the UK in recent years.

Parents Wilma and Carl have very valuable genetics within the European Endangered Species Programme population, after coming to Longleat from Pretoria in South Africa.

It means their cubs, are also genetically distinct from the vast majority of the cheetahs within Europe, making them even more important.

Cheetahs are the fastest land animal, and can reach top speeds of 71 miles per hour.

In the wild, only one in every three cheetah cubs survive the first two months of their lives, with most falling prey to lions, leopards and hyenas.

The species is officially classified as ‘Vulnerable’ on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species, which means it is likely to become ‘Endangered’ unless the circumstances threatening its survival and reproduction improve.