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: