About two miles east of the Wild Animal Park’s entrance is a secluded area, owned by the Zoological Society of San Diego, where scientific research thrives. This is our Behavioral Biology Research Station, home to Chinese dholes, South African cheetahs, Geoffrey’s marmosets, and Sudanese striped hyenas. Because active research is conducted here, human traffic is extremely limited and is usually restricted to keepers, researchers, and students.

However, on Sunday, April 15, this all changed when the Research Station provided a temporary workstation for the Park’s Education Department and its Conservation Corps. Spearheaded by Education Specialist Andy Schucker, 35 high school students were brought to the isolated research area to build environmental enrichment items to encourage natural behaviors.

Extensive research of the cheetahs’ natural history and decades of managed-care observations have shown that these animals generally enjoy resting upon elevated areas such as the top of hills, dirt mounds, kopjes, etc. to secure a bird’s-eye view of their potential prey and/or predators. With this in mind, and a pile of wood planks in hand, it was decided that the Conservation Corps would build two elevated platforms for a couple of our cats whose pens have little to no topographic variation. Armed with an ample work force, Andy and his team of young conservationists set to work enriching our cats’ lives.

With blueprints in hand, each student took part in the construction of the platforms. Every one of them engaged in sawing, drilling, and hammering. The afternoon became quite the arena for cooperation and teamwork and was an informative vehicle for all involved. The students were divided into two groups. While one group worked, another received a unique opportunity to tour the Research Station. Equipped with an arsenal of knowledge from Andy and the Education Department, the aspiring conservationists were not only sponges for absorbing the information presented to them, but incredibly astute at asking questions that would impress even the keenest of college professors. Upon completion of the second tour, it became quite apparent that all of the students were possessed with an admirable passion for knowledge, research, and an overwhelming desire to aid in our efforts here at the Park and the Zoological Society as a whole.

After a day’s worth of exhaustively preparing the two wooden platforms, the time had come to introduce our cheetahs’ to their new “look-outs.” A six-year-old female named Pula and a seven-year-old male named Noka were the proud recipients of the new furniture. While both notoriously have a penchant for rambunctiousness and mischief, they were given a little added incentive (extra meat) on top of their platforms to help speed along the investigative processes. It didn’t take long for either to examine the new additions to their territories, nor did it take long for them to acclimate to them. Today, it is not uncommon for both Pula and Noka to use the platforms that a group of ambitious, conservation-minded students built on their own time.

All the keepers at the Research Station would like to express our gratitude and thanks to Andy Schucker and the Education Department for not only helping us to build enrichment for our animals but also providing the opportunity to solidify conservation programs for our local community. We would also like to thank the Conservation Corps for offering their time to help our animals. It is quite apparent that with all the passion exhibited on this afternoon, the planet’s animals and their habitats, will be in good hands.

William Hieber is a keeper in the Behavioral Biology Division and the Wild Animal Park Mammal Department.

Read another post about the Research Station’s cheetahs: Pombe’s Big Adventure.

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