Over the past few weeks, there was an unusual Sherlock Holmes case that had unfolded at the cheetah enclosure. When feeding the cubs one morning, Caroline discovered a ‘gift’ on the transport cage in the night pen. Amused, but thinking nothing more of it, the day went on as always. However, once this habit had turned into a daily occurrence, the case of which cub had taken to leaving their calling card on the transport case began.
A day went by… two… and every day the now regular poos were discovered on the cage with no cub to claim them. Who was it?! None of them had been seen to climb on top of the cage and so, for the time being, the cub’s identity remained a secret.
Then just over a week later, early one Saturday morning, the mystery was solved. Caroline was prepping food for the sanctuary animals and had gone to fetch something from the room next to the cubs’ night pen when she heard banging and clanking noises. She peeked in… and lo and behold the culprit was spotted on top of the cage! It was the unshaved male cub sitting there, looking very proud of himself.
Case closed! We give you, Phantom, the phantom cage pooper:
Phantom poopers aside, the cubs are doing well.
They are growing quickly, which is what resulted in their new ability to make it onto the transport cage. Their hind legs have visibly elongated as they grow into their cheetah bodies.
Game meat are provided by the DGR for the feeding of the cheetahs.
In preparation for the feed, the impala carcass is skinned and cut up, removing as much fat and sinew as possible as it blocks the mincing machine. The meat is then minced and frozen. When served, it is mixed with chicken mince. An impala will last between 10 days and 2 weeks at the moment, depending on whether it was a male or female (males are bigger).
The cubs are in good health overall and they are most certainly each developing their own personalities. Who knows what other shenanigans they may get up to next! Join us for the next update to find out!
(August 2021)
