Photo courtesy Smithsonian’s National Zoo.

We had worried. It had been, like, several weeks since the National Zoo announced a new group of adorable, internet-friendly additions to its menagerie. Not to fear, though! Today, the Zoo brings word about five cheetah cubs which were born at its Front Royal facility in late May.

Six-year-old mama Amani, who gave birth to a male singleton in December 2010, produced a far larger litter this time around. (The screenshots from the Zoo’s camera are grainy as all get out, so we’ve illustrated this post with the above image of one of the Zoo’s last round of cheetah cubs. I assume this won’t be a problem. Washingtonian has the blurry video, if that’s your cup of tea.) The Zoo is quite excited about the new cubs, since cheetah births around the U.S. “have dwindled.” According to the Zoo, this is the first and only litter of cheetahs to be born at an American zoo this year. Bring on the television cameras.

All in all, a fine apéritif for the always-anticipated panda pregnancy announcement.