Wonder Twin Powers, Activate!

Yes, that’s right folks! This week we are talking about the coolest twins at Wildlife Safari, Khayam and McHumba. These two have a pretty unique story as far as captive cheetahs go.

Khayam in front, McHumba behind 

(I'm sure this one was in a previous post, but I apparently lack pictures of the two together)

As you may recall from my previous post about little Maximus, first time moms in cheetah land (particularly hand raised ones like Moyo) don’t always know they are pregnant, or what to do when weird stuff falls out of them 90 days later. As stated in my previous post, even if mom knows what’s going on and wants to take care of them, sometimes having fewer than three cubs isn’t even enough to stimulate milk production, and mom has to reject the cubs in order to save herself. In the wild, this could literally mean the difference between life or death if she had to protect not only herself but two helpless cubs. Sometimes fewer than three cubs just isn’t worth the time and energy. In the case of Khayam and McHumba, mom rejected them after two days. This to me says she tried, but couldn’t produce the milk needed to care for them. So, keeper staff decided to turn a bad situation (losing the cubs) into a good one, and stepped in to hand raise the pair of cubs, born blind and helpless. This meant a minimum of six months 24-hour care. In this case, unlike with Maximus, the cubs belonged to us. This presented a great opportunity: make the two ambassadors!

What’s an ambassador, you ask? Well, if I didn’t already mention this in one of my previous posts (or if you’ve been living under a rock), ambassador cheetahs are raised to be used as education animals. This means a lot of hard work to train the animals (sit, lay down, paw, etc), get them used to being around people and loud noises, as well as being leash trained. Yes. A leash. Just like a dog. Our previous ambassador, Taini, is now retired, due to her age, but still makes an appearance every now and then (and is actually still quite good at painting). So, Khayam and McHumba were raised to be education animals where staff can take them on outreaches (which includes schools, grand openings of business in the Winston-Roseburg area, and even wineries! Khayam is a member of a wine club, in fact!), and use them for encounters. Such encounters include cheetah photos, cheetah strolls and cheetah encounters with paintings.  These are all great ways to educate the public about cheetahs and wildlife conservation both at Wildlife Safari and off grounds. Carnivore and Cheetah staff also make sure to go in with the cubs on a daily basis to maintain that strong bond.

Khayam

He and his sister were born on Leap Year, 2012. Khayam was named after the original ambassador cat, a statue of whom can be seen in the middle of Winston. Topping out at around 95lbs, he is full grown at the age of 2. He enjoys grooming his keepers and his sister as a form of bonding (cheetahs are gross and don’t groom themselves). Khayam can become very easily distracted during encounters, as we have a lot of wild black tail deer in the area. Deer is much more exciting than small chunks of meat that don’t move. When he isn’t on leash, he can be seen chasing his sister, or flopped down in the shade when it’s hot. He can be a little brat sometimes, but we still love him.

Me on leash with Khayam

Emily on leash with Khayam

McHumba

Named very appropriately, McHumba means “sweetheart” in Swahili. She is currently abour 82lbs, which is on the small side for a full-grown cheetah (which can range from 80-120lbs), she exhibits the ideal slender body shape you want to see on these cats. When it comes to strolls, McHumba is a mover. Rarely stopping to enjoy the shade during these encounters, she can also become distracted by squirrels and deer we cannot see (often high up in the hills). If only we had that binocular vision…  Like her brother, McHumba is also very bonded to the keeper staff at Wildlife Safari. When stressed or unsure, the cubs seek comfort in their surrogate parents.

Danielle and Sam on leash with McHumba

(you can see Danielle has a white bucket on her belt for the meat)

Melissa on leash with McHumba

Tayler second on leash with McHumba for her own "Anything Can Happen Tuesday" (see below)

I also mentioned once, that we as interns occasionally get to be second leash with these two during daily cub walks or encounters. Being second is literally holding the leash (serves as a second barrier to the public). You give lots of slack and do nothing unless something happens and the first on leash (the primary trainer of the session) is rendered immobile or unconscious.  Being a third means you are not on leash, but talking to guests, and making sure everyone keeps a safe distance from the animal. Interns are usually thirds, given there is enough paid staff to be on leash and it isn’t “Anything Can Happen Tuesday”. In the above photo, Tayler is seen on leash with McHumba. Tayler was the spring intern in the ungulates department. Each department allows their interns to cross train with another department for a day towards the end of their internship. This "Anything Can Happen Tuesday" allowed Tayler to be second on leash!

However, my “Anything Can Happen Tuesday”, seems to have been a fluke. Never did I ever imagine that I would be allowed to be first on leash. But it happened. Last week. Sarah, our supervisor asked the group of us who wanted to be what for the cub walks (i.e. 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd). Me being the only intern, I assumed I would be third. She kept looking at me, as if expecting me to say something, but I remained quiet. I didn’t want to seem greedy by wanting to even be second on leash.

Sierra: I’ll be second.

Jordan: I wanna be first.

Melissa: Well, I’m sick so I shouldn’t be first. I’ll be third.

Wait, what? What is happening?

Sarah looked at me after a few moments of quiet, and said, “You don’t want to be first?”

Blank stares.

Wait, what? I can be first? “Yes! Yes, I do, I just… I didn’t even think that was allowed!”

Sarah: Well, it is crazy Tuesday, so…

So that was how I got to be first on leash with McHumba. This means I got to train her. Sit and hold to get the leashes on. Target to get her moving and focused. Sit and look for pictures. Lay down and flop. Sit and give me the right paw, then the left paw (watch out for those dew claws!).  At first it was awkward trying to figure out which side of her to be on, with a clicker in one hand with the leash, and the other hand with access to meat chunks from a tub dangling from my belt. After a fashion it was easy, mostly because I stopped being nervous and gained my training confidence. McHumba was doing so well and was so easy going, it just made the whole experience amazing and practically flawless. I still can’t believe that happened. I feel so lucky.

Now, since I mentioned it, I’ll give a (very) brief update on Maximus:

Renamed Ruuxa since his arrival in San Diego, he is doing well! He has been paired with a Rodesian Ridgeback puppy named Raina, who is equally adorable. According to photos and videos from the news, the unconventional pair seem very playful and content with one another. He is well on his way to becoming an ambassador for his species.

The following three images were taken from the internet:

Bright Lights, Big Kitty

Apologies for the hiatus, due to unforeseen circumstances, I had been unable to post. But here we are again!

This week we are (finally) going to talk about tigers, which includes Saigon, the Siberian (Amur) Tiger that lives at Wildlife Safari.

Training with Sai; "lay down"

Unlike cheetahs, tigers are built for power. They are the largest of the big cats, and therefore can roar, but cannot purr. Cheetahs and mountain lions are the largest cats that can still purr. The ability to purr has to do with a series of bones in the throat and how high or low they are (close together or far apart) that creates the sound of a purr versus a roar. Tigers do make a variety of other sounds including a chuff (which sounds kind of like saying "vfvfvfvfvfvfvfvf"), which is a kind of greeting and basically says "I like you". However, if Saigon chuffs at you.... he might like you, but keep in mind he also chuffs at trees. Saigon is 18 years old, which may also contribute to some of his other vocalizations. While, I haven't personally heard him roar, I have heard him grumble and whine while I am training with him or giving him meds. He is a unique gentleman of a tiger, and I'm sure if I work with other tigers in the future, I will be surprised at their notably more aggressive mannerisms.

Training with Sai; "paw"

Of the five extant subspecies of tiger, Siberian/Amur is the largest, with individuals weighing between 300-700lbs! Saigon only weighs around 400lbs, but he is still huge! I had never really appreciated their size until I saw Saigon up close and personal. Tigers can eat anywhere from 50-100lbs in one sitting! They are considered "gorge and fast" predators, because they don't know when their next meal will be. Their hunting success rate is astoundingly low, only about 5%. Tigers are ambush predators, and kill with a powerful bite to the neck. It has been noted that tigers will hunt down prey even while swimming. Yes, tigers love swimming. Tigers, unlike most cats, love water. Even Saigon! Saigon has two yards on display; one of which has a large pond that he loves to swim in (especially when his big red ball is in it!). In his other yard, he has a structure that he loves napping under, especially when its raining. He loves to swim, but hates the rain!

Photo by the fabulous Sheila Swanson (c) 2014

If you hadn't noticed, tigers have stripes. Similar to cheetahs and their spots, if you were to shave a tiger, the stripes would still be visible on their skin! So, we can call tigers, "truly striped". In contrast, zebras generally have dark skin under their fur (which means, they are black with white stripes - now you know!). Stripes in all animals are primarily designed for camouflage. There are a few ideas behind this... one might be that the dark stripes help the animal blend into tall grasses, because the dark lines might look like shadows the grass casts. Another idea, is that the stripes help visually break up the size and shape of the animal to confuse the predator or prey. The latter is especially true for zebra, which, like many ungulate species are herd animals and travel in packs. If you were a lion hunting a zebra and saw a large mass of stripes, you probably wouldn't be able to tell if it were one individual or multiple. Either way, it would look like too much to take on alone. Score 1 for zebra. For tigers, the coloration and intensity of the stripe pattern has a lot to do with their habitat. Saigon has lighter markings than some of the other subspecies of tiger, because the Siberian/Amur tigers are found in wooded areas, where the more drab coloration helps them blend in more. So, the stripes-look-like-shadows idea might make more sense for tigers.

Training with Sai; positive reinforcement

Tigers are solitary animals, coming together only for breeding. After a gestation period of about 103 days, a female will give birth to a litter of 3-4 cubs (on average). These cubs will stay with mom for two and a half years. In the last few months of working with Wildlife Safari, I have learned an interesting fact about tigers that changed my view on the animal. I feel like a lot of people think that white tigers are a whole separate type of tiger, and that they are beautiful and awesome and they totally want one as a pet. Well, as far as having a tiger for a pet... not a good idea! And while white tigers can be pretty... they are actually not their own species or subspecies of tiger. They are the result of inbreeding (father and daughter), and the white coloration is tied to a recessive gene. This can eventually lead to... Kenny.

(picture taken from the internet)

Two of the keepers in the cheetah/carnivore departments at Wildlife Safari have actually worked with Kenny (born 1998, died 2008), and other white tigers at Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge in Arkansas. So, orange. It's pretty sexy.

Saigon in huts, pre morning meds

So, now that we have learned some fun facts, its time to get serious. At one point there were 9 subspecies of tiger. Three of which are extinct, one of which is extinct in the wild (i.e. represented only in captivity), and the remaining five subspecies comprise less than 5,000 individuals of tigers left in the wild. The biggest threat to tigers includes habitat loss, poaching for their fur and for traditional asian medicines. Support grass roots conservation organizations!

Contemplating life, with Saigon

So, on a happier note, I have been allowed to train with Saigon, and help out the cheetah department with their encounters (which, during the summer season is going to be very helpful!). As part of her intern project, Emily came up with a 21-day enrichment schedule for Saigon, to see if what his favorite types of enrichment are to keep his days exciting and fun. So far, he favors things like painting, a big red ball in his pond, and Old Spice spray. Apparently, tigers can see red really well. Enriching Saigon is harder than enriching the bears, but easier than cheetahs. 

That's all for now, folks!

Coming Soon: The Intern Hunger Games!

**Editors Note: No post next week, due to traveling.