Five cheetah cubs on display at Australian zoo

AUSTRALIA (CNN) -- In Australia, a group of the world's rarest animals have gone on display at Adelaide's Monarto Zoo. Five cheetah cubs have made their first public appearance - the zoo's first successful litter in nearly a decade.

All big cats start out little, and as their mother watched over them, the cheetah cubs explored their new world. 

Tearing around - and doing the cheetah thing - they spend a lot of time playing with each other, grooming mum and mum grooming them and jumping all over mum's head of course!

These cheetah cubs will grow to be the fastest land animal on the planet, and even as tiny cubs, they are speedy!

"It's truly already amazing to see how fast they are. They're a remarkable creature," 

The cheetah cubs' mother Nakoola was from Monarto's last successful litter -- nine years ago.

"For those of us who have been here from day one and witnessed that birth and the progression of Nakoola and then to see her go on and become a breeding female is yeah, icing on the cake," 

Now, with a clean bill of health, these cubs are a lifeline for a species on the brink of extinction.

"They are so tough to breed in captivity so it's huge for the region that we've been able to breed again - particularly five cubs - two males and three females," 

These cheetah cubs have baby buddies at the zoo -- a hyena, chimp, rhino and zebra, among other recent arrivals.

"Providing your animals with the right environment, stimulation, they can exist happily to go on and breed," 

The zoo may hold a competition for naming rights of these cubs.