Young cheetahs take an Easter stroll

Picture / Paul Estcourt

Ten-month-old cheetahs Anubis and Osiris, pictured with keeper Amy Dickson, are the newest additions to Auckland Zoo's stable.

The big cats, which were hand-reared in South Africa as part of the Cheetah Outreach conservation programme, are the first cheetahs on show in the zoo's 84-year-history. The brothers went into their new enclosures this week.

Cheetahs, the fastest animals on four legs, are Africa's most endangered cats. They now number about 13,000 after considerable loss of their habitat to commercial farming and development.