Cheetah triplets train for ambassador roles.
15 Video Views·Dec 16, 2025
At the Cincinnati Zoo, three young cheetah sisters are preparing for their future roles as cheetah ambassadors. Kiara, Lulu, and Zola, who recently turned 4 months old, were seen playing together for the first time in their large yard at the Cheetah Encounter.
"This is one of the big milestones for them being in this yard because this is where they will one day be running in our shows," said Senior Trainer Andie Haugen, who has spent eight years in the zoo's cheetah program.
Kiera, Lulu and Zola just turned four months old and we were there the first time they all played
together in their big yard at the cheetah encounter. So this is one of the big milestones for them
being in this yard because this is where they will one day be running in our shows. That's
senior trainer Andy Haugen who spent eight years working in the cheetah program. So cheetahs are
naturally pretty skittish creatures and so introducing them to new spaces is really helpful
Andy and a team of trainers have been caring for the triplets since they were
four days old. We're bottle feeding them, we're giving them round the clock care
and hand raising them so they develop really close bonds and relationships with their trainers.
Just like human moms and dads the trainers lead the baby cheetahs through important milestones
making sure they feel happy, safe and confident as they grow. Eventually running at top speeds
for now the little cats race each other or sneak up from behind for a quick wrestling match. So
getting this sprinting, getting this energy out, learning how to chase and stand up and fall over,
all that stuff is important. As they get older they get faster and they be they kind of become
better runners as they age. Do they have distinct personalities? Yeah they do. I think they all,
Kiera is probably the most bold cat of the three of them so when they are. She was the one that
yes exactly so when they are in a new situation she's always the first one to go ahead and check
it out. She's the most confident which is really fun but the other two also have their own
personalities as well. Zola is the biggest. We like to call her the little troublemaker so she
likes to get into things and test her boundaries which is always fun and then Lulu is the smallest
one but she's very sweet. These cheetahs are among 70 that have been born and bred through
the Cincinnati Zoo's program. They're such a fun cat to work with and one of my favorite things is
running them. We're one of the only zoos in the world really that does that and it never gets old.
Kiera, Lulu and Zola are not on display just yet but some delighted visitors can see them out with
their trainers if their timing's just right. You may be able to get your first look at Zoo Babies
in May.