Special News Report, Part Deux

It has come to my attention that I didn't explain WHY we have to hand feed Maximus.


Moyo, first time, hand-raised mom, had a singleton cub. If you remember from my previous post about cheetahs ("I solemnly swear that I am up to no good"), singleton cubs aren't typically reared by the mother for a few reasons. Usually, its a case of the mother weighing her options and deciding that one cub wasn't worth all the time and energy that it takes to care for their offspring. Sometimes milk production isn't stimulated, so even if the mother tries to care for it, the cub would starve after a few days because mom dries up. Sometimes the mothers even eat the cub! Additionally, first time moms who were hand-raised don't know what to do with cubs, and often reject them. If they were to breed again, the likelihood of them having a larger littler is greater (for reasons unknown to me - I will try to get more info on that!), so then they might be more likely to take care of them. However, Khayam and McHumba were rejected by mom, but their sisters from the next litter (Charo, Roni and Zuri) were all mom-raised. It just depends, I guess.

In the case of Moyo, well, we're not even sure she knew she was pregnant. One day she stops eating and maybe doesn't feel so great, and all of a sudden this thing falls out of her, and she probably thought it was just a big turd (scientific, I know). We have cameras set up in the breeding areas to monitor the cats in labor, etc., so the keepers were able to watch her when she gave birth. She apparently had the cub, wondered what the heck fell out of her, sniffed it and walked away. Cheetah staff immediately stepped in and pulled him because Moyo doesn't like other cheetahs, so we figured it was possible she would eat the cub.

So the cub was brought to the clinic, apparently not breathing, so Sarah and cheetah/carn staff worked on stabilizing him and preparing a milk replacer (we're using a KMR solution). He's since been sleeping, eating, and pooping like a champ.


So there you have it. Or not. Sorry if this post is a little jumbled. We're all tired from all the overnight feedings! But he is worth it!