CHEETAH BIRTHS AT AFRICA ALIVE!

October 19th

 

 

Keepers at Africa Alive! were delighted with the birth of 4 cheetah cubs on 7th August.

Once again the ‘Etna’ and ‘Joshi’ have proved to be a very successful pairing producing yet another litter of cubs. Until very recently the animals were held in the park’s ‘off public show’ breeding facility to ensure that mum ‘Etna’ and the cubs had the privacy they required for a successful rearing. This week the family have been allowed access to an adjacent area allowing visitors to get a glimpse of these adorable cubs, 1 male and 3 females.

The successive and successful births are the result of many years of dedicated work with the Cheetahs including the  construction of a suitable breeding facility and identifying compatible animals for breeding. The cub’s mother ‘Etna’ was born at Dvur Kralove Zoo in the Czech Republic and ‘Joshi’ the farther was born at Marwell Zoo. All the animals are held as part of a European breeding programme involving around 80 zoos.

One of the keys to breeding success is to separate the female from the male as much as possible to simulate what occurs in the wild as Cheetahs tend to live solitary lives. ‘Etna’ was moved to our sister collection at Banham Zoo to meet ‘Joshi’ and this is where the cubs were conceived.  She then returned to Africa Alive! Where the cubs were born.

FACTS

The Cheetah is widely accepted as being the worlds fastest land animal. It is capable of achieving speeds of 70 miles per hour (100 kph) and can reach 60 mph in three seconds from a standing start!