Cheetawelp from Montpellier out in Safaripark Beekse Bergen

From a zoo in Montpellier, a female cheetajong came to Safaripark Beekse Bergen last September. Since this week, she has been on display for visitors in the outdoor enclosure. The cub has a special story, as she no longer stays with her biological mother and is an important offspring within the European management program.

The cheeta cub was born as a loner at a zoo in Montpellier, France, in early September. In this species, the mother's milk yield stops after a few days if it is insufficiently stimulated by several young. Therefore, the zoo in question knocked on Beekse Bergen's door as coordinator of the cheetahs' European management program. The request was whether there was a litter somewhere else in Europe that this cub could suckle and grow up with.

Curator Lars Versteege: "At that time, we had a highly pregnant cheetah in Safaripark, the only chance for a 'surrogate mother' for this cub, upon which the decision was made to transport the young cheetah. This female gave birth rather quickly to a litter of five, three of which, unfortunately, were already stillborn. The French cub was placed with the litter, after first ensuring that she carried the same body odor as the mother's own cubs. As a result, she was immediately accepted."

Vulnerable species

Unfortunately, the two remaining cubs did not make it, but the cub from Montpellier did. That required extra effort from the animal caretakers, who had to help a bit with feeding and stimulating digestion. Versteege: "Right now there are too few births in this species, so it is all the more important that young are born and survive. Indeed, as coordinator of the management program, we have the important task of creating a healthy reserve population in European zoos."

The cheetahs in zoos are ambassadors for their peers in the wild. With only 7,000 cheetahs left in the wild, the species is very vulnerable. The biggest threats are habitat loss and human-animal conflict. Versteege: "About 75 percent of all cheetahs live outside protected areas. Here they regularly come into conflict with people, such as cattle ranchers, who then fight these animals." Beekse Bergen supports, through Stichting Wildlife, Cheetah Conservation Botswana (CCB). Botswana is home to the second largest cheetah population in the wild. The organization is committed to protecting the cheetah in several ways.

Social interactions

The crucial first few months are over for the cub. Still, it remains exciting how the situation will develop. Versteege explains: "Now that she is going outside, it remains to be seen whether the adult female will stay near her, since the milk yield has completely stopped. After all, young predators still have to learn everything, so that's why social interactions are important. We'll keep an eye on it and hope they continue to hang out together."

Images may be used crediting Beekse Bergen/Mariska Vermij - van Dijk.

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