VIDEO: Whipsnade Zoo cheetahs given birthday presents but all they do is play with the boxes!

Whipsnade Zoo’s six cheetah cubs celebrated their first birthday with meaty treats and a cardboard cake.
A Whipsnade cheetah with birthday presentsA Whipsnade cheetah with birthday presents
A Whipsnade cheetah with birthday presents

The speedy sextuplets, who can run up to 64mph, gobbled down the protein but like typical youngsters loved to play with the empty boxes and discarded wrapping paper!

The gifts were all part of the one-year-old cubs’ enrichment programme, designed to keep them active and spark their natural curiosity and playful natures.

Zookeeper Rosie Scott said: “It’s not often we get to celebrate six birthdays in one day, so we wanted to do something special for the cubs. They love investigating new things and had great fun working out how to reach the food inside their presents.”

A Whipsnade cheetah with birthday presentsA Whipsnade cheetah with birthday presents
A Whipsnade cheetah with birthday presents

The cubs are the second litter of Northeastern African cheetahs to be born at Whipsnade Zoo and are providing a valuable rearing experience for mum, Dubai, of this threatened species.

They were born two years after Dubai gave birth to her first cubs, which were the very first litter of Northeastern African cheetahs ever born in the UK.