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Cool Cats At The Dallas Zoo: Two Baby Cheetahs Join The Menagerie

Meet the newest members of the Dallas Zoo family.

Winspear and Kamau, two male cheetah cubs, were born July 8. These are two cool cats. Look at the pictures -- they sure look sweet.

Winspear weighs about 8 pounds. (No word yet on whether his last name is Opera House.) Kamau is over 6 pounds.

They’ll have a furry friend at their side. Amani is an 8-week-old black Lab who will be raised with the cubs as a “calming playmate,” zoo officials say.

Winspear and Kamau are covered with black spots. Below their eyes are unique “tear stripes.” When they grow up, they’ll stand about 3 feet tall and weigh up to 140 pounds.

And if the pictures aren't enough, then check out the Dallas Zoo video.

The cubs won’t live with the zoo’s two adult brother-and-sister cheetahs, Bonde and Kilima, in the Giants of the Savanna.

Instead, Winspear and Kamau will be part of the zoo’s Animal Adventures outreach program to teach about conservation efforts regarding these endangered African animals.

When they’re bigger, they’ll appear at the zoo’s Wild Encounters stage.

Next year, the zoo plans to open a cheetah run to show off the world’s fastest land mammal.

By the way, did you know that cheetahs can run up to 70 mph? Well, now you do.

Eric Aasen is KERA’s managing editor. He helps lead the station's news department, including radio and digital reporters, producers and newscasters. He also oversees keranews.org, the station’s news website, and manages the station's digital news projects. He reports and writes stories for the website and contributes pieces to KERA radio. He's discussed breaking news live on various public radio programs, including The Takeaway, Here & Now and Texas Standard, as well as radio and TV programs in New Zealand and the United Kingdom.