Cheetah Cubs at the National Zoo

By Patty Hankins and Bill Lawrence

One of the hottest photo spots in the Washington DC area these days is the Cheetah enclosure at the National Zoo. Tumai (Swahili for “hope”) gave birth to a litter of four cubs – two males and two females in November 2004. The litter is not only Tumai’s first, but also the first litter of cheetah cubs born in the history of the National Zoo.

The cubs are currently on display daily from noon to 2 PM. Weather permitting, they may be out earlier in the day.

We have some photos of Tumai and the cubs on our website at http://www.hankinslawrenceimages.com/cheetahs2_05/cheetahs.htm  These photos were taken in early February when the cubs first went on display.

When you visit the cheetahs – you’ll definitely want to bring your longer lenses. The cheetahs are usually at the middle to back of their enclosure. Patty uses her 75-300 mm lens – with most photos taken at close to 300 mm. Bill uses his 100-400 mm lens – with a 1.4X extender. As you can see from some of our photos – the cheetah enclosure isn’t the most scenic at the zoo – so try to use the lowest F stop you can to have a smaller depth of field. That way some of the less scenic aspects of the background can be out of sharp focus.

The National Zoo and the Friends of the National Zoo have two web cams focused on the cheetah cubs at http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Animals/AfricanSavanna/  It’s a great way to see the cubs if you can’t come visit them in person.