ZooNooz Article - DECEMBER 2008

Born to run

Two baby cheetahs, born at Taronga Western Plains Zoo recently, are thriving under the care of their keepers, writes June Downs.

Photographs Rick Stevens

Mtoto, a beautiful little cheetah cub whose name means "little child" in Swahili, was born early in August this year. Malika, his mother, was experienced, having given birth to a healthy litter of four cubs in 2004. Everything went smoothly with that birth, and although a very close watch was kept on Malika and her cubs, no intervention was ever needed.

Just as for that previous birth, zoo vets and keepers carefully monitored the progress of Mtoto and his mother, but this time it became apparent that all was not well - and soon after he was born keepers removed Mtoto, fearing for his safety. Malika was then anaesthetised and checked using an ultrasound machine. A heartbeat could be heard indicating that there was another cub, but the birthing process had obviously stalled. An emergency caesarean was performed and Ushindi ("triumphant" in Swahili) was born. However, to the distress of everyone, Malika died as a result of post-operative complications.

The vets and keepers were now faced with an unenviable situation: two little orphan cubs, neither of which had enough of the colostrum that is in the first milk from their mother. Colostrum contains vital antibodies which give all baby mammals a great "kick-start" to their life.

Fortunately the veterinary staff and the keepers have expertise in hand-raising a wide range of animals. This, combined with advice from Michelle Lloyd, who handraised cheetah cubs at Monarto Zoo in South Australia, and from the De Wildt Cheetah and Wildlife Centre in South Africa and Dreamworld in Queensland, meant that the little cubs had a fighting chance. Single cubs usually require hand-raising as there isn't sufficient suckling stimulus for the mother to produce an adequate milk supply. Round the clock care by the dedicated staff saw them through the very difficult early days.

And these little cubs are very important. Cheetahs are critically endangered. Much of their habitat is used by people, who understandably find it difficult to share the land with a creature that may eat the animals they are farming. In the reserves and wild areas where cheetahs are not competing with humans they are competing with other wild animals.

In fact, cheetahs have to eat as much as possible of anything they catch very quickly before another larger animal such as a lion steals it from them. For this reason cheetahs will often concentrate on devouring the organs and the blood. Cheetah cubs are themselves often prey for other predators such as lions.

Mtoto and Ushindi have distinct personalities. Mtoto is the bold one and pushes the boundaries with the keepers. He would normally have been disciplined when necessary by his mother. So when he does something he shouldn't, he is given a little rap on the nose by the keepers, just as he would have received from his mother.

Ushindi catches on more quickly when the cubs are learning anything new. When they were first given solid food, Mtoto had a tendency to steal some from Ushindi, but now Ushindi guards his food and makes sure he eats as much as he wants.

The cubs are good company for each other: mutual grooming takes place and they sleep together. They are also learning from each other. To bring down their prey, cheetahs will tend to trip the animal they are chasing by catching its hind leg with their dew claw. Mtoto and Ushindi play chasing games and use this tripping action.

Each day they spend some time in an outdoor playpen, a little fenced area which contains logs they can climb on.

They have also been given balls and other toys to chew and to stalk! In the wild, cheetahs, unlike other cats, hunt mostly in the daytime and they will often climb a large rock or tree stump to get a better view of the surrounding area. In their outdoor play area they have also encountered other strange and interesting creatures, especially apostle birds. As well, they are visited each day by a curious magpie.

The milk the cubs were given was Wombaroo, a special formula for baby animals. When they were four weeks old they began to eat solids, mainly tinned kitten food, to supplement the milk. At around this time they were also introduced to raw chicken necks.

At first they just played with them, but before long they were eating them, and by ten weeks of age they were also eating minced chicken. By eleven weeks they were having four meat meals a day - the milk meal had been reduced to just one.

The cubs have flourished. At birth Mtoto weighed 510 grams and Ushindi 450. At eleven weeks they were 3,198 grams and 2,699 grams respectively. The loving care given by their devoted "foster parents" has obviously paid off, and they are well on their way to joining the other cheetahs at the zoo - cheetahs that we hope will help to ensure the survival of this beautiful animal.

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