Cheetah Cubs Have Their First Checkup

On a rainy Tuesday at our private conservation campus, our four cheetah cubs experienced something new — the first medical exams of their young lives! 

Working quickly, staff from our animal care and vet teams briefly separated the cubs from their mother, Amabala. (We gave her a frozen rabbit, her favorite food, which she seemed to be rather happy eating while we worked.) 

One at a time, we gave each cub a thorough, full-body visual inspection, allowing us to check their overall body condition and development. Six weeks is the sweet spot for this type of checkup: the cubs are old enough for us to perform a hands-on check safely, but still small enough for the process to be quick and efficient.

To keep the tiny cubs free from any potential diseases, we collected a small-but-not-too-painful blood sample, and vaccinated the cubs against common diseases that can be deadly to members of the cat family, including feline distemper.  The cubs also received deworming medication and a tiny tracking transponder placed under the skin on their shoulders. 

The cubs are still young and curious, and a few of them didn’t quite know how to react. But some made their opinions known – by hissing and flashing their tiny teeth at our team! (Believe it or not, that’s a healthy sign for a growing cub.)

We were pleased to confirm a unique detail about this litter: all four cubs are female! 

Over in just a few minutes, we placed the cubs back in the den and reunited them with their mother. All four cubs received a clean bill of health.

Now that we have health data on each cub, our animal care staff can rest a little easier. It’s a relief to know that all four cubs are free from any obvious health concerns, but it’s equally important for us to establish a medical baseline. By comparing this data with whatever we collect in the future, we can see if there are changes that might require our vet teams to step in.

Studying the blood samples will help, too — we look at vaccine titers to see what immunities the cubs have obtained from Amabala, and we check for health problems that would have a negative impact on their young lives. 

With fewer than 7,000 cheetahs left in the wild, each healthy cub helps us reach our goal of establishing a stable and sustainable population for this vulnerable species. But for now, we are so happy to know that all four cubs are healthy, and we are especially excited that we have four girls!   

Don’t forget to watch the cubs on the Cheetah Cub Cam for even more cheetah cuteness.