cheetah Archives - Animal Fact Guide

Hand Raising a Cheetah Cub

Posted on August 11, 2015 by admin

Photo by Taronga Western Plains Zoo.

The zoo keepers at Taronga Western Plains Zoo have had their hands full raising a little cheetah cub named Siri.

Siri was born on May 21 this year to experienced mother Halla. But usually, cheetahs are born in litters of three to five cubs. When a single cub is born, mother cheetahs generally reject the cub since survival rates for a single cub are low in the wild.

Zoo keeper Linda Matthews said: “We were on alert when we knew there was only one cub, and after 24hrs based on what we were seeing, we intervened to give Siri the best chance of survival.”

A keeper bottle feeds Siri. Photo by Taronga Western Plains Zoo.

For the first six weeks, keepers provided 24/7 care for the cub.

Siri and Iris the puppy interact. Photo by Taronga Western Plains Zoo.

At eight weeks, they introduced a 7-week-old retriever cross mastiff puppy named Iris as a companion. This will help Siri develop her animal instincts and social interaction.

Photo by Taronga Western Plains Zoo.

Learn more about cheetahs in our cheetah facts article.

Baby Cheetahs at Busch Gardens

Posted on March 5, 2015 by admin

Aww! Busch Gardens Tampa welcomed a pair of cheetah cubs!

A pair of cheetah cubs have joined the ranks at Busch Gardens in Tampa, FL. The cubs, named Tendai and Thabo, weighed 12 pounds when they were born on November 22, 2014. Once old enough, they will start their own coalition of cheetahs at the Cheetah Run habitat.

Zzz… These cheetah cubs are all tuckered out.

Watch a video below:

Learn more about cheetahs at our cheetah facts article.

Featured Animal: Cheetah

Posted on September 1, 2014 by admin

Meet our featured animal: the cheetah!

Here are five fun facts about cheetahs:

Accelerating from 0 to 96 km/h (60 mph) in three seconds, the cheetah is the world’s fastest land mammal.
Cheetahs have several special adaptations that allow them to reach top speeds, such as wide nostrils, a powerful heart, strong arteries, and an aerodynamic body frame.
With long legs, loose hip and shoulder joints, and a flexible spine, cheetahs can cover 7 m (20-25 ft.) in one stride.
Although sometimes confused with leopards, cheetahs are distinguished by their “tear-stained” black marks that run from the corners of their eyes down the side of their nose to their mouth.
Young cubs grow a thick yellow-gray coat on their backs called a mantle. The mantle protects the cub from the sun and rain and helps camouflage it in the shadows.

Learn more at our cheetah facts page.

Poll Results: What is your favorite big cat?

Posted on December 26, 2013 by admin

In our latest poll, we asked Animal Fact Guide visitors, “What is your favorite big cat?” And the winner is…

CHEETAH!

Cheetah was the the top answer, taking 26% of the votes. In second place with 18.5% was tiger. See all the results below:

Take our NEW poll in the sidebar. We ask visitors, “What kind of pet(s) do you have?”

Cheetah and Dog Celebrate One Year Friendship

Posted on April 19, 2012 by admin

Remember Kasi and Mtani, the cheetah cub and yellow lab puppy that became best friends at Busch Gardens last year? The two bosom buddies are all grown up. This marks one year since the two were introduced.

Just to refresh your memories, here are the two from April of 2011:

Here they are now!
Kasi and Mtani

Kasi and Mtani

Baby Animals of 2011

Posted on December 29, 2011 by admin

There were so many adorable baby animals born in 2011. Here are a few highlights:

Baldest Baby: This baby aardvark was born at Busch Gardens Tampa on April 10, 2011. He was hand-reared by zookeepers because his mother was neglecting him.

Oldest Mother: Five Santa Cruz Galapagos tortoise hatchlings were born on November 15 to a century-old tortoise in a South Carolina zoo after she hid the eggs from zookeepers for months.
Galapagos tortoise hatchling at South Carolina zoo

Best Gremlin Impersonator: The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore welcomed a male baby Coquerel’s sifaka on November 12 and named him Nero. Sifakas are a kind of lemur who move by leaping through trees or side-hopping on the ground.
Baby sifaka at Maryland zoo

Roundest Face: A pair of red pandas were born at the Franklin Park Zoo in Boston, MA on July 4. In the wild, red pandas inhabit bamboo forests in China, the Himalyas, and Myanmar.
Red panda baby at Boston zoo

Unlikely Friends: An 8-week-old cheetah (born in February) was paired with a 16-week-old yellow lab at Busch Gardens Tampa. The two adolescents became great pals.
Cheetah cub and puppy friends

Most Smiley: A dolphin calf was born on July 26th at SeaWorld Orlando. Here he is bonding with his mother.
Dolphin mother and calf

Whitest Kiwi: Two rare all-white kiwis were born this year at Pukaha Mount Bruce National Wildlife Center in New Zealand. Manukura was born in May and was the first of its kind born in captivity. Mauriora was born in December. The two white kiwis are North Island brown kiwis who carry a rare white gene. They are not albinos.

Hope you enjoyed our roundup of amazing animal babies of 2011. Happy New Year!

Baby Cheetah and Puppy Become Pals

Posted on April 16, 2011 by admin

cheetahpuppy

Starting today guests at Busch Gardens in Tampa, Florida will get to see an unlikely pair – a cheetah cub and a yellow Labrador puppy. The 8-week-old cheetah was taken in last month because his mother was unable to care for him. Last week the animal care team decided on the 16-week-old puppy as a companion. The two will live together in Jambo Junction, a part of the Nairobi area of the park.

The park has opened a poll on their Facebook page to allow voting on what to the name the pair. Voting ends on Monday, April 18.

UPDATE: The cheetah cub has been named Kasi, which is Swahili for “one with speed.”

Continue reading →

Baby Cheetah at Busch Gardens

Posted on March 17, 2011 by admin

The animal care team at Busch Gardens in Tampa, Fl is busy these days caring for a four week old cheetah cub. The cheetah was born at another zoo and his mother was unable to care for him. The decision was made to hand-raise him and so far it’s been successful. The little guy now weighs over 2 lbs. and is growing stronger each day.

Once he is big enough he’ll join other cheetahs at the park and will one day play a role breeding program to help increase the population of these endangered animals.

Busch Gardens supports the conservation of and education about cheetahs through the SeaWorld & Busch Gardens Conservation Fund, which has donated nearly $100,000 to cheetah efforts in Africa since 2005 and also helps fund conservation programs for white rhinos, marine animals and many other species around the world.

Continue reading →

Cincinnati Zoo Announces Arrival of Cheetah Cubs

Posted on November 21, 2008 by admin

The Cincinnati Zoo has announced the arrival of three male cheetah cubs. The cubs were bred at the zoo’s cheetah breeding facility, Mast Farm, in Clermont County, Ohio. Two will be transferred to the Columbus Zoo, while the other, Tommy T, will remain at the Cincinnati Zoo in the Cat Ambassador Program. You can follow Tommy T’s everyday activities in the blog, www.cheetahdays.com.

The success of the zoo’s breeding efforts is significant. Cincinnati Zoo has partnered with the Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF) in Namibia, Africa, the Columbus Zoo and the De Wildt Cheetah & Wildlife Trust in South Africa to preserve the species. The IUCN currently characterizes cheetahs in the wild as vulnerable and in decline mainly due to loss of habitat and fragmentation.