Cheetahs: As beloved as a certain species of dual-chromed ursine is, by far the most clicked-upon animal of 2012 was the majestic cheetah. OK, so the cheetahs we featured weren’t so much majestic as they were cute and cuddly (for now)—a pair of cubs born in late April at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Front Royal, Va. Ally, the zoo’s adult female cheetah, was in labor with four cubs, but complications forced veterinarians to perform an emergency caesarean section. Only half the litter survived, and the cubs have been raised mostly by human hands ever since. They made their public debut in July, and finally got their names thanks to a pair of appropriately fleet Americans: Justin Gatlin and Carmelita Jeter, the top U.S. competitors in the men’s and women’s 100-meter dash at the Summer Olympics. Readers couldn’t stop clicking on the cheetahs. All told, their coverage racked up well north of 170,000 clicks.

Photo by Adrienne Crosier/Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute

When the Smithsonian’s National Zoo announced earlier this year that a pair of cheetah cubs had been born at its research facility in Front Royal, Va., there was no shortage of squeeing. Tomorrow, there will be even more when they make their official public debut at the zoo’s Cheetah Conservation Station.

The two cubs were born April 23 in trying circumstances when after the first was born naturally, their mother’s labor ceased, forcing doctors to perform an emergency cesarean section procedure that rescued the second cub. (Two others died.)

As a result of the tricky birthing process, it was deemed that the cubs be raised by human hands. Moving into the National Zoo, the cheetahs will continue to receive direct care from the staff, but they will also finally be able to be gazed upon by the cheetah-loving masses. More importantly, perhaps, the zoo will also announce plans to name the cubs, one female and one male.

The cubs will be let into the cheetah yard tomorrow morning, but, as a zoo press release notes, “it is up to the cubs whether and for how long they come out into the yard to explore.”

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