Endangered cheetah cubs take first steps outdoors

Two new-born cheetahs have taken their first steps outdoors at a wildlife park in Yorkshire.

Visitors to Yorkshire Wildlife Park, near Doncaster, can now see the three-month-olds after they spent their first few months confined to a smaller enclosure with mum, Darcy.

Conservationists have said they represented a "major advance", with global cheetah numbers standing at only about 7,000 in the wild.

Cheetahs have become extinct in 13 African countries, so new births are seen as hope for the species.

Dr Charlotte Macdonald, director of animals at the park, said: "We’re so pleased our cubs are strong and healthy and ready to be released into the reserve where visitors will be able to see them for the first time."

Follow BBC Yorkshire on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [e-mail].