The principles of animal training are the same for all species, from your dog at home to a cheetah at the zoo. Our favorite training method is positive reinforcement – simply put, when the animal does what the trainer asks, they get something they like (which in the case of cheetahs is a big pile of meat). The animal then makes a positive association with that behavior and wants to do it again.
As I mentioned earlier, we want to show off the cheetah’s speed. Contrary to popular opinion, cheetahs don’t spend their day racing around at 65 mph. Running is a lot of work, especially when your food just sits on a plate waiting for you.
The cheetahs were already trained to come to the trainer when called so we started by calling them out to the front of the exhibit. The faster they run, the bigger the treat. Check out the Cheetah Cam:
Fast running = Big Pile o’ Meat. See, this isn’t that hard.
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Wow. This is an amazing angle! We here at Schipul would really like him to kiss us. He's weally cute.
Kisses might seem like a good idea but did you see what happened to that camera? Not to mention the scratchy tongue – think house cat x100!
Very much like Fancy Feast, and just as stinky!