An Asiatic cheetah gave delivery to 3 “healthy” cubs in Iran, the head of the surroundings department said Sunday, calling it a first in captivity for the endangered species.

“Iran”, one of most effective a dozen cheetahs observed inside the Islamic republic, added three “healthful” cubs through C-section, Ali Salajegheh instructed the IRNA news agency.

“This is the first birth of an Asiatic cheetah in captivity,” he said.

“By preserving these cubs, we can increase the cheetah population in captivity and then in semi-captivity,” Salajegheh added.

The cubs were born in the Touran Wildlife Refuge in the Semnan province east of Tehran, where the mother and her babies are being monitored in intensive care.

The world’s fastest land animal, capable of reaching speeds of 120 kilometers (74 miles) per hour, cheetahs once stalked habitats from the eastern reaches of India to the Atlantic coast of Senegal and beyond

They are still found in parts of southern Africa but have practically disappeared from North Africa and Asia.

Iran is one of the last countries in the world where the Asiatic cheetahs live in the wild and began a United Nations-supported protection program in 2001.

The subspecies “Acinonyx jubatus venaticus”, typically called the Asiatic cheetah, is severely endangered, in step with the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

In January deputy surroundings minister Hassan Akbari stated Iran is domestic to only a dozen Asiatic cheetahs — down from an estimated a hundred in 2010.

Their scenario “is extremely essential”, Akbari stated at the time, adding that the animals were sufferers of drought, hunters, and car injuries.