Follow the National Zoo Games
The decision to name the cubs after the fastest Americans is part of a broader National Zoo Games campaign to celebrate the Zoo’s finest animaletes. Beginning this week and lasting for the duration of the Olympic Games, the Zoo will be posting photos, videos and fun facts showcasing the best of sport in the animal kingdom, from weightlifting ants to water polo-playing lions. Followers can track the updates on the Zoo’s Facebook page and National Zoo’s website and through the hashtag #ZooGames on Twitter .
Each activity that the animals participate in is an important component of the Zoo’s Animal Enrichment program, which provides physically and mentally stimulating activities and environments for the Zoo’s residents.
The cubs were born April 23 at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Front Royal, Va. Five-year-old first-time mom Ally abandoned the male cub, which is relatively common for first-time mothers under human care, and remained in labor. When she stopped having contractions hours later, SCBI head veterinarian Dr. Copper Aitken-Palmer anesthetized her and performed a cesarean section, a procedure rarely used on cheetahs and one that cubs do not often survive. A team of veterinarians, keepers and scientists worked for three hours to resuscitate the three cubs that were delivered. The female cub survived. Since their birth, the two cubs have been hand-reared and were moved to the Zoo May 18.
The cubs will be on exhibit starting Saturday, July 28, and will have access to their yard every day at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m., for no longer than an hour at a time at first. Whether they come out and for how much of the hour they stay out will be up to the cubs.
The Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute plays a key role in the Smithsonian’s global efforts to understand and conserve species and train future generations of conservationists. Headquartered in Front Royal, Va., SCBI facilitates and promotes research programs based at Front Royal, the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., and at field research stations and training sites worldwide.
Photo by Jen Zoon, Smithsonian’s National Zoo
