Cheetah Cubs Get Toys from Adopt-An-Animal
Posted at 10:18 am March 8, 2006 by Rachael Shay
Proceeds from the Adopt-An-Animal program have been distributed among the keepers for much needed toys and equipment for their critters. The four cheetah cubs that were hand raised at the San Diego Zoo’s Children’s Zoo at the end of last year are now seven months old and living at an off-exhibit area at the Wild Animal Park. The cubs were given a selection of plush toys to play with; just like kids in a toy store, they went crazy over them! The keepers lined up a variety of plush: a very floppy, soft husky dog; a stiff-standing mountain lion (just a little smaller than them in size); a small gazelle (their natural prey in the wild); and an aardvark (pictured). The keepers were pleased to see that the cubs were acting like real cheetahs. They exhibited behaviors of cubs their age in the wild, such as pouncing, stalking, and attacking their prey and biting the neck. A lot of this behavior is encouraged and taught by the mom. Since these cubs are being hand raised, it is nice to see that they still have their cheetah instincts.
Rachael Shay is a special events coordinator for the Zoological Society of San Diego.
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March 8th, 2006 at 10:52 am
How nice that they are taking to the stuffed toys y’all gave them!!I’m glad they have good people taking care of them! Sincerely, Lisa B.
March 8th, 2006 at 11:56 am
So cute! It’s amazing how they retain their instincts
March 8th, 2006 at 1:42 pm
It’s great that the cubs have access to toys which will allow them to develop their talents with fun! I think that people forget that animals of all sizes have emotional needs, and the real meaning of ‘play’, which is practicing for adulthood!
March 9th, 2006 at 11:06 am
the picture is cool.
March 9th, 2006 at 11:30 am
Hi, Rachael. Thanks for keeping us up-to-date on the Adopt-An-Animal program, and thanks to the program for providing such great enrichment items for the cheetah cubs. The picture is so cute; they’ve surely grown from their incubator days! And best of all, they can practice their hunting skills. I hope we can hear more about other animals that got enrichment items.
March 15th, 2006 at 7:48 am
Too cute! Just curious, how long have the stuffed animals lasted? Have they torn the stuffing out of them yet? What fun it would be to see these little ones playing. Thanks for the update Rachael, and keep up the great work.
April 19th, 2006 at 2:31 pm
That is so great to have them get the toys for enrichment. I saw them at the zoo nursery a lot and I was wondering how they were doing!
Any chance of them being out so the public can see them at the Wild Animal Park? I miss seeing them and watching them grow. How is the one that had the surgery?
May 24th, 2006 at 8:17 pm
cheetahs are lovely and they need some more toys
September 29th, 2006 at 9:30 am
I love that he is holding that bear.
Editor’s note: We think the cheetah cub is holding a plush aardvark, but either way, we think it’s cute, too!
March 25th, 2007 at 7:25 pm
I think that it was so nice that they gave the toys to them.
June 5th, 2008 at 5:32 am
I think its really sweet that they give toys to them.
November 25th, 2008 at 11:13 am
I love cheetahs!! I hope to be like you guys raising and training and so on with cheetahs. They are great and I want to do my part to keep them from extinction!!!!
March 12th, 2009 at 7:50 am
Awww. how Cute. These little cubs be the cutest little things.