Five cheetah cubs are receiving critical care in the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden's Nursery after Zoo veterinarians stepped in to perform a rare C-section on five-year-old mother "Willow" last week.

The cubs, three boys and two girls, were born in the zoo on March 8.

Cheetahs are endangered, and their population worldwide has shrunk from about 100,000 in 1900 to an estimated 9,000 to 12,000 cheetahs today.