The Cheetah cubs are six months old this month! The cubs and mum Kyan have really settled in well to being out on exhibit and are readily utilising the climbing structures and trees. 

As the cubs get older, Kyan is becoming increasingly comfortable with them exploring parts of the exhibit on their own but she still has a watchful eye on them from a distance. She is consistently on alert for any perceived danger and will verbally call the cubs back to her or encourage them to follow her as she sees fit.
The cubs’ diet is increasing as they continue to grow. At the moment they are eating about 1kg of meat a day across two feeds and get a variety of chicken, beef, kangaroo and rabbit. At feeding times Kyan always ensures the cubs eat prior to herself.

The cubs have two speeds – all or nothing! With six siblings there is always someone willing to rumble and play with or to lie against to have a snooze. As the day temperatures start to creep up the cubs are becoming more active early in the morning and later in the afternoon. Being essentially big cats just like some people have at home they do like to rest and sleep a lot which conserves their energy for those explosive bursts of speed.

The cubs are also starting to really look more elongated as they look more and more like mini Cheetah. Over the coming months their stalking and ankle tapping skills will continue to be prominent as they fine tune their hunting skill instincts as would happen in the wild. For this they are practicing on each other and also on a very tolerant mum. Like most cats, the cubs react to movement – be that birds flying low and close by or watching the long-necked turtles swimming in the moat from the shoreline. 

By Cheetah Supervisor, Jennifer Conaghan