#cheetah

#cheetah

The National Zoo Welcomes Two New CheetahsThe first new cheetahs of the year were born on October 3 at Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute in Virginia. Four-year-old Amani gave birth to twins in her first litter. The father is seven-year-old Asante, and they are his first offspring as well. Since these cubs come from first-time parents, they are a valuable contribution to the genetic diversity of the zoo's captive breeding program. While zookeepers have yet to examine the baby cheetahs, they are keeping an eye on them by camera. You can, too, via the institute's live webcam. When Amani is comfortable leaving the cubs, they will be examined to determine their health and gender. So far, they seem to be doing just fine and Amani is very attentive to their needs. Here's a video of the cub's birth and first day.

When a Cheetah Steals Your JacketWildlife filmmaker Gordon Buchanan has been following a litter of three cheetahs in the Kalahari desert almost since their birth. He never approached them, but they were always aware of his presence. Now that they are large juveniles, their curiosity has overcome their suspicion and they want to check out Buchanan's possessions. As human children just appropriate your stuff to play with, so do the cheetahs. Buchanan, as an experiencedwildlife documentarian, doesn't want to interfere with the cheetahs' nature by interacting with them, but he wants his jacket back! Enjoy this amusing clip from the BBC series Cheetah Family and Me. What I find fascinating is that the cheetahs look fully grown, but their faces still retain that big-eyed cuteness that makes you want to hug kittens and other babies. #cheetah #wildlife 

Sleeping with the CheetahsDolph C. Volker works with lots of wildlife species, but he has a special place in his heart for cheetahs. At Cheetah Experience in South Africa, he took the opportunity to go sleep in a cheetah enclosure on a rainy night. Would the cats mind? Would they come and try to share his blankets? In this video, Volker explains cheetah hierarchy and decision-making, but all we really want to do is see a guy snuggle with three 100-pound apex predators that also happen to be kitty cats.

Five New Cheetah Cubs on a WebcamCongratulations to Rosalie and Nick on the birth of five babies! The cheetah cubs were born on October 12 at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI) in Front Royal, Virginia. The staff have not approached the new cubs yet, since 5-year-old Rosalie is caring for the cubs just fine on her own, so they don't know the cats' genders yet. The father, 10-year-old Nick, was the first cheetah born at SCBI as part of their breeding program. While the staff remains hands-off, they are keeping an eye on the cubs via webcam, and so can we. Check out the cheetah webcam to see what mother and babies are doing. Or go back in time and watch them being born in this video.

The National Zoo is Hand-Raising a Cheetah CubSukiri, a seven-year-old cheetah, gave birth to a litter of three cubs on September 16. One was stillborn, and another died soon afterward. Cheetah mothers do not get enough stimulation from one cub to continue producing milk, so Sukiri abandoned the third cub the next day. The animal care staff took the cub into the veterinary clinic at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI), where he was fed around the clock.