Posts Tagged ‘cheetahs’

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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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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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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May
21

Cue the Cheetah Cam!

Posted by in Cheetah Ambassador Program

Hey, that’s a little close, watch out for the —

Don’t worry, no cheetahs or cameras were harmed in this little test. Video is a great tool for animal trainers and we can use it to go back and see what worked and what didn’t work.  We’ve been taking video of the cheetahs and dogs since they arrived here and it also helps us see how much they have improved.

Of course, video also makes a great tool for a blog so we’ll be posting a lot of it here. If you want to see videos or more than just cheetahs and dogs, check out the Houston Zoo’s YouTube channel.

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