Two female cheetahs born in Arnhem’s Burgers’ Zoo are moving to Spain under a European exchange scheme.

The young cheetahs are the result of a breeding programme that has seen 15 cubs, including two sets of sextuplets, born in the Dutch city in the last six years.

An eight-year-old male cheetah and two nine-year-old females have been involved in the breeding programme, with all the sextuplets born to the same mother in May 2014 and September 2016. Cheetahs usually have between two and five cubs at a time.

One of the 15 cubs has since died, with the others relocated to zoos in the UK, France, Germany and Poland. Two of the three remaining cheetahs are now leaving for Tabernas zoo in Spain.

A European breeding programme has been drawn up for the cheetah, which is an endangered species. The male from Burgers’ Zoo is also being rehoused so that another, unrelated male can take his place in Arnhem.