Archive for the ‘Cheetah Ambassador Program’ Category

Aug
11

SOS Cheetah Part 3: Return of the Cheetah Cam

Posted by in Cheetah Ambassador Program,Conservation,Enrichment

One of the highlights of SOS Cheetah was the lure course – here you can see some great footage of the world’s fastest land mammal…But first, its never-before-seen footage of the cheetah exhibit’s fastest canine:

The lure course is an important part of our Enrichment Program for the cheetahs and dogs. Not only is it great exercise, its an opportunity for them to exhibit a behavior that they would do in the wild – chasing down prey. Of course the prey in this case is a toy, which they gladly trade for some meat at the end of the run.

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Aug
04

SOS Cheetah Part 2

Posted by in Cheetah Ambassador Program,Conservation

SOS booth 2

christmas shopping in july

Did I mention last week we had lots of cool stuff for sale? All the money (over $800) will go to Cheetah Conservation Botswana’s Livestock Guarding Dog Program:

“CCB has initiated its first mobile veterinary clinic, providing free care for Livestock Guarding Dogs in identified farming communities. The initiative started in Ghanzi and was extremely well received by the community. The clinic provides free vaccinations and sterilization for livestock guarding dogs. Free resources are distributed during the clinics on how to minimize conflict with predators. In 2008 CCB began constructing an LSGD network of farmers through our LSGD Newsletter and we now have 3 times the number of contacts we had in 2007.

The project also aimed at improving the general health of domestic dogs in the surrounding areas which expose the guard dogs and the local predators to disease. CCB teamed up with the Maun Animal Welfare Society (MAWS) whose mandate is to control population numbers and health of domestic dogs through sterilization clinics. Together we sterilised 24 dogs and vaccinated and dewormed close to 200 animals, whilst informing these key communities about the benefits of using guard dogs.

The annual competition for the Best Livestock Guarding Dog in Botswana, helped significantly in promoting the programme. We are gathering much data on their use and we continue to encourage farmers in the programme.”

-from CCB’s Cheetah Tracks Newsletter March 2009

SOS booth

don't worry, no cheetahs were harmed in the making of that tablecloth

Thanks to Carnivore Keeper Susan Shepard for the great pics. Dogs and cheetahs, together again. Anyone sensing a theme here?

 

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Aug
02

Dog Profile: Tusker

Posted by in Cheetah Ambassador Program,Profiles

no autographs today, please

no autographs today, please

 

Name: Tusker (Tusker is the name of a Kenyan beer with a cute elephant on the label. I always thought it would make a great name for a zoo animal, plus it reminds me of my amazing zoo trip to Kenya).

Vital Stats: Tusker is a 2 year old Anatolian Shepherd dog, born in Missouri and came to the zoo at about 12 weeks old. He has several brothers and sisters, including Taji.

Interests: Napping, barking, playing with Taji, visiting his friends around the zoo

Tusker is stubborn and protective, which are true Anatolian traits. He prefers stage presentations to meet and greet encounters so we schedule his appearances accordingly.

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Jul
31

SOS Cheetah a Huge Success!

Posted by in Cheetah Ambassador Program,Conservation,Featured

Spotlight on Species: Cheetah raised over $800 this weekend for Cheetah Conservation Botswana! Thanks to everyone who came out and saw keeper chats, training demonstrations, enrichment, and our fabulous table of cool cheetah stuff!

someone check the radar gun!

someone check the radar gun!

There was so much going on, this is going to take more than one post. Today we’ll focus on one of my favorites, the lure course. This is the same type of device that is used for racing dogs and cheetahs LOVE it. It turns out our dogs love it too – check out these action shots from Carnivore Supervisor Kevin Hodge.

run Taji run!

run Taji run!

Did you come by for SOS Cheetah? What was your favorite part?

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Jul
23

Cheetah Profile: Kito

Posted by in Cheetah Ambassador Program,Profiles

I was browsing a recent coworker’s blog entry and saw suggestions in several comments that we provide more in-depth info about our animals. Well, since this blog is devoted to 4 of the most popular animals at the Houston Zoo, I thought I better get started. First up, Kito the Cheetah:

Kito and Taji

Kito loves dogs, he even shares his training snacks with them!

Name: Kito (Swahili for “precious”)

Vital Stats: Kito is a male cheetah and he will be 2 years old in September. As you know from previous entries, he was born in Florida and came to the zoo at just a few days old. He has one brother here at the zoo and a sister in Florida.

Interests: Chasing stuff, napping, hanging out with his friends, teaching people about threats to wild cheetahs

Kito is self confident, with a ready-for-anything attitude and an eagerness to train, all of which makes him a great animal ambassador at the zoo.

kito's tail

BLOG ONLY INFO: you can tell Kito apart from Kiburi by his tail - Kito has a solid black tip with a spot, Kiburi has stripes

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Jul
21

All About Cheetahs and Dogs this Saturday!

Posted by in Cheetah Ambassador Program,Conservation,Featured

dog and cheetah at BEC lawn-featured

Come out to the zoo this Saturday to join us for Spotlight on Species (SOS): Cheetahs. SOS is a new event developed by the Houston Zoo Keepers to highlight a the conservation of a particular species at the zoo. Previous events have focused on sifakas and patas monkeys and have been a huge success, raising money for conservation and providing a great opportunity for our guests to get in-depth knowledge about our animals.

The Carnivore staff has big plans, with a day full of keeper chats, training demonstrations, a lure course, and maybe even a meet and greet with Taji the Anatolian Shepherd Dog. We’ll have merchandise for sale (maybe even some original artwork by our cheetahs) with the proceeds benfiting Cheetah Conservation Botswana.

 

Disclaimer: some of these events will be weather dependent, we don’t ask our animals to do anything strenuous if it is too hot. But don’t worry, we’ll make it worth your time either way. Cheetahs and dogs will definitely be there and so will the staff to answer all your questions.

See you Saturday!

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Jun
04

Are they tame?

Posted by in Adaptations,Cheetah Ambassador Program,Featured

cheetah-on-stage-featuredWe get this question a lot when we are out working with the cheetahs. Maybe you’ve wondered it yourself when you’ve seen the cheetahs out for a walk or the keepers in their yard doing a training session. So, are they tame?

No, they’re not. The cheetahs are trained to be very well-behaved in very specific circumstances. This training started when they were just a few days old and has continued every day since. A small number of the zoo’s staff works closely with them and we have desensitized them to all sorts of distractions and there are many procedures in place to make sure both our guests and animals are always safe.

If strange people were to come into the exhibit or try to pet them, they would likely act like most wild cats and make a quick exit or even try to bite. Even our staff has to watch them closely and does not play with them like you would a dog or cat at home. If you let them run around your house, your furniture would be shredded (and they have no idea what a litter box is for).

If we are doing our jobs right we make it look easy, but don’t be fooled, these are not domestic cats. Check out the Houston Zoo’s web page for more details on why wild animals don’t make good pets and if you are looking for a new best friend, try the HSPCA where there are lots of great animals looking for homes.

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May
31

Training 101: Back to Kindergarten

Posted by in Cheetah Ambassador Program,Training

Sometimes we teach an animal how to do something then one day they won’t do it any more. Maybe they forget, maybe they’re confused, we don’t always know why. Regardless of the reason, one way we fix it is to “go back to kindergarten”, a trainer’s term for taking a few steps backward in the process.

After a few sessions of really speedy running, the cheetahs started to slow down. There are a couple ways we could handle this. The first method is to find something else that makes cheetahs want to run fast. Hmmm, what could that be…

img_1745

Ha Ha. Carnivore keepers think they are SO funny

Cheetahs love to chase things. In fact, they can’t help it, if something is moving, they want to chase it. When they were little, one of their favorite games was to chase a ball. Ta-dah! we found a way to get the cheetahs to run again. And lick the camera, what’s that about?

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May
29

Training 101: Positive Reinforcement

Posted by in Cheetah Ambassador Program,Training

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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May
28

It's Show Time

Posted by in Cheetah Ambassador Program

dog-and-cheetah-at-bec-lawn

the whole gang out for a walk

 

Some of you may have seen the cheetahs and dogs out in the zoo, but we also wanted to provide some great guest experiences at their exhibit as well. 

We are working on developing a show, for lack of a better word. Now don’t get too excited, there won’t be any dance numbers or costumes – our show will focus on the animals’ amazing adaptations and behaviors.

 

 

 

tusker-napping

cheetahs schmeetahs, I need a nap!

 

So what’s so cool about cheetahs and dogs?

Well, everybody knows cheetahs are fast – in fact, they are the world’s fastest land mammal. So we’ll show off their speed for sure but a few other things as well.

The dogs like to show off that they can do anything cheetahs can do and maybe a few other tricks as well. More on that later…

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