ZooBorns

A Bond To Last A Lifetime, One Year Later

Who can forget Kasi, Busch Gardens' Cheetah Cub born January 17th 2011, and his playpal Mtani, the Labrador Retriever puppy? For readers who've never met the dynamic duo, Kasi was paired with Mtani in order to help him get accustomed to socializing with other animals. “Male cheetahs are social and often live together in coalitions,” explained animal curator Tim Smith. “This social bond will be a very similar relationship, and they will be together for life."

Monday, April 16 marked the one-year anniversary of the first time park guests got to see an 8-week-old male cheetah cub and a 16-week-old female yellow Labrador puppy start to strike up a friendship that the park’s animal experts expect to last a lifetime. Now, a year later, they live together full time at the park’s Cheetah Run habitat and even travel together to schools, events and television studios, helping the park’s education team teach the public about the plight of cheetahs in the wild and the importance of Busch Gardens’ conservation efforts.

Photo credit: Busch Gardens Tampa Bay

 

Learn more about the pair's anniversary beneath the fold...

How About a Couple of Baby Cheetahs?

On February 29th, Wildlife Safari in Winston, Oregon welcomed the birth of two baby Cheetahs. The cubs, named Mchumba and Khayam, are being hand-reared by park vets to ensure their safety. Their mother displayed strange behavior following their birth and experts agreed that round the clock care was critical to their survival. The public debut of the cubs is planned for the Memorial Day Weekend.

Photo credits: Wildlife Safari

Twin Cheetah Cubs Await Names

The Wilds in Ohio just finished their naming contest for their twin cheetah cubs, one male and one female, born on Octotber 31 to mom Tabu. We hear they are down to 4-6 sets of names but thought you'd like to see these babies as they decide. This is the second litter for Tabu but the first she is raising on her own. She's doing a great job, and has been very protective of her two little cubs.

Female cheetahs typically bear three to five cubs in a litter and the cubs stay with their mothers until they are 12 to 20 months old. A full-grown adult cheetah weighs between 86 and 143 pounds. Cheetahs live and hunt in open grasslands and bushy areas in parts of Africa and the Middle East. They are the fastest land mammals, reaching speeds of 60 to 70 miles an hour over short distances. 

Cheetahs are included on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) list of vulnerable species (African subspecies threatened, Asiatic subspecies in critical situation) as well as on the US Endangered Species Act: threatened species. Today there are just 12,400 cheetahs remaining in the wild, and the biggest population is currently located in Namibia with about 2,500 individuals. Asiatic subspecies is critically endangered counting only fifty to sixty individuals that still have their habitats in Iran.

Photo Credit: The Wilds

 

Cheetah Cubs Venture Outdoors

Three cheetah cubs born at Essex's Colchester Zoo in July to parents Uria and Jack, have gotten big enough to begin exploring life outside in their habitat.

Little Milawi, the male, and Tatu and Savannah the two females, have been allowed their first steps into the grass and sun in the cheetah enclosure.  At first all three were very tentative, staying close with mom at the entrance, but soon, two ventured out a bit more, though closely following mum, while the third cub shyly remained within the entrance area.

In short order, the cubs are becoming more confident and independent as they are beginning to leave Uria’s side and explore their new surroundings.

Photo Credit: Colchester Zoo

Announcing "ZooBorns CATS!": The Newest Edition in the ZooBorns Library!

From the guys who brought you the smash hit ZooBorns: The Newest, Cutest Animals from the World's Zoos and Aquariums, which DiscoverMagazine.com called “hands down the cutest books ever to grace my shelf” comes ZooBorns CATS! The Newest, Cutest Kittens and Cubs from the World's Zoos featuring adorable pictures of newborn felines from accredited zoos and conservation programs around the world. ZooBorns: Cats! is the largest and most complete collection of kittens of different feline species ever published! Every sale of ZooBorns Cats! supports the Association of Zoos and Aquariums Conservation Endowment Fund. With the official release on November 1st, you can pre-order ZooBorns CATS! now at Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Look out for exclusive giveaways and excerpts on our Facebook page in the coming weeks! 

Smile and Say "Cheetah"!

Three Cheetah cubs were born to female, Uria and male, Jack in July at the UK's Colchester Zoo. Male Cheetah, Jack, joined the Colchester Zoo's collection in March 2011 to pair with Colchester's resident female Uria on a recommendation from the EEP breeding co-ordinator for this species, which has resulted in a successful mating and birth of three healthy cubs!

Photo credits: Colchester Zoo

The three cubs have remained under the watchful eye of their mother and keepers, and have been sexed as two females and one male but are yet to be named. Their keepers have been keeping a close eye on the new arrivals with weighing sessions to ensure that the cubs continue to gain weight to ensure good health and wellbeing. The trio are unlikely to be seen over the summer period as they will remain within the den whilst they develop under the close care of Uria, their mother, but it is hoped that the new arrivals will make an appearance within the autumn months. 

In the past, Uria has been temporarily transferred from the collection in order to pair with breeding males in other zoos which has recently proved unsuccessful. The positive addition of Jack, our male cheetah, will hopefully allow the pair to continue to breed successfully in the future, helping to support the captive population of this species.

 

First Four Cheetah Cubs Show The Sun Their Spots

The first litter of cheetah cubs to ever be born at Chester Zoo have stepped outside for the first time. Born five weeks ago, in late June, the four rare Northern cheetah cubs ventured into the great outdoors.

Tim Rowlands, Curator of Mammals, said: “This is a first for Chester Zoo and we are delighted to say all four youngsters and mum are doing really well.” Tim added: “This subspecies is Endangered in its native northeast Africa. That’s largely because they have increasingly found themselves coming into conflict with larger predators and also farmers, as both their habitat and access to prey has reduced."

“They exist only in a handful of zoos in Europe," Rowlands continued, "and we are the only collection to have bred them in the last twelve months. So this is a great achievement for KT, her cubs and everyone here at the zoo. It’s also really positive news for the future of the species.”

Photo Credit: Lee McCarthy

Cheetah Cub Quintuplet gets its First Check-up

Five Cheetah cubs were born on May 28, 2011, to six-year-old Amani at the National Zoo's Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Front Royal, Virginia. Amani gave birth to a single male cub in December 2010. The cubs got their first exam with our veterinarians on July 12. The cubs, now seven weeks old, are healthy and thriving, and they're growing quickly. They now each weigh between four and five pounds. The veterinary team performed full physical examinations to make sure none of the cubs had any abnormalities. They were given their first vaccinations to protect against respiratory and gastrointestinal viruses, both of which commonly affect Cheetahs.

Photo credits: Mehgan Murphy / Smithsonian National Zoological Park

More Pics below the fold!

Five Cheetah Cubs!

Five cheetah cubs were born at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Virginia on May 28, 2011. Recently the animal care staff had a few brief moments to weigh and inspect the animals. The results: the cubs appear to be healthy, doing well and are very active. On average, the cubs weighed about 2 pounds (less than 1k). Keepers will continue to monitor the newborns, while giving the mother, 6-year-old Amani, privacy to bond with her offspring. 

“When I was weighing the last cub, he was being a very tough little guy,” said Adrienne Crosier, SCBI cheetah biologist. “We’re already starting to see differences in their dispositions and look forward to watching them grow and learning all we can from them.”

Photo Credit: Adrienne Crosier, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute

Cheetahs, the fastest animals on land, are struggling to outpace threats to their survival in the wild. Because of human conflict, hunting and habitat loss, there are only an estimated 7,500 to 10,000 cheetahs left in the wild. The International Union for Conservation of Nature considers cheetahs a vulnerable species. You can read updates on the Smithsonian National Zoo's website.

Video of the cubs after the jump!

New Playpal for Kasi the Cheetah Cub

Busch Gardens’ Cheetah cub has a new companion! Since the young Cheetah cub is being hand-raised by keepers, staff decided to pair him with a Labrador puppy as a playpal to help the animal socialize. Both animals are quite playful and naturally curious about the other. They have been getting along wonderfully. While this is Busch Gardens' first puppy / cheetah pairing, the move is not uncommon at zoos. “Male cheetahs are social and often live together in coalitions,” explained animal curator Tim Smith. “This social bond will be a very similar relationship, and they will be together for life."

Photo credits: Matt Marriott / Busch Gardens Tampa Bay

The Cheetah and puppy each received names yesterday selected by the public. The Cheetah's name, Kasi" means "one with speed" while the Lab's name, Mtani, means "close friend" in Swahili. See pics of Kasi as a young cub here.