When Clara went into labor, there was quite a bit of concern. After all, she about to give birth to four cubs. The stress of giving birth to twins has been known to kill human mothers in the past. Even with the progress of medicine, multiple births still had a risk. But Clara had three things working in her favor: first, before she was uplifted, she had given birth to multiple litters before. Second, The Animalia Virus made her a lot stronger and fitter than most women. Third, her second exposure to the virus had returned her to her prime so she had a lot more youthful energy.
Still, it was a tremendous labor and there was a lot of screaming from Clara. The screams hurt the ears of the birthing staff quite a bit as not only was she screaming like a woman in pain, but she was also screaming like the mountain lioness she originally was. So it was with ringing ears that four healthy new cougar cubs were introduce to the world.
The first was a boy named Robert. He wasn't just named after Clara's faithful deputy-mayor, but after a brother-in-arms that Richard knew back in Iraq who didn't make it back. The next were two girls who Clara named Michelle and Hilary after two political women she admired. The last was William, named another fallen friend of Richard's.
Once the ordeal of birthing them was over, everyone agreed the cubs were among the cutest they've ever seen. The spots in their fur made them more adorable, though they will fade as they grow older. Clara was exhausted by the long excursion, but she was nowhere near a critical condition. Her only regret was that she only had two breasts to feed her cubs with. Though making sure they were all fed was no great effort. Her mammary glands were currently producing more milk than their little stomachs could hold.
But even though the birth was a success, Clara was still on bed rest until her strength was recovered. Which fortunately shouldn't be too long considering how hearty Animalians are. And Clara couldn't afford to take too much maternity leave from her duties. She had the IAC to oversee, the Grand Amazon River Hotel and Casino to inspect to see if it would make a good colony for Animalia, and many people to meet.
It was Clara's dedication to the developing Animalia community that made her so admired by everyone, even those who criticize Animalia as a den of loose sexuality and bestiality. It was that same determination to build a peaceful society that earned her a Nobel Prize. While Clara's station of mayor was not officially set in stone, it was unlikely that she'd ever lose it as no-one would want to run against her. Now that she and Richard had a family of her own, her attention might be a little divided. People were already jokingly referring to them as the 'First Family of Animalia', though there were already plenty of other families that had come together before them. Even so, their cubs would be receiving a lot of attention throughout their lives.