A baby cheetah in Oregon was adopted by a new feline family in Cincinnati Zoo. (Illustration by The Epoch Times, Courtesy of Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden)
A feline foster arrangement for a cheetah cub at Cincinnati Zoo has shown, once again, the utterly blind and reckless love of mothers in the animal kingdom, able to turn a needy fur ball’s maternal mismatch into a warm and fuzzy animal adoption.
A male cheetah cub was brought from Oregon to Cincinnati Zoo to be raised by a different mother. (Courtesy of Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden)
The cheetah cub’s mother was unable to provide milk after his other sibling died. (Courtesy of Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden)
The male cheetah joined Etosha, a female cheetah who recently gave birth to two cubs of her own. (Courtesy of Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden)
“The other cub in his litter didn’t make it, and single cubs do not provide enough stimulation for the moms to produce milk,” she told The Epoch Times. “He would not have survived without being hand-raised by humans or cross-fostered to a cheetah mom.”
Cincinnati Zoo staff rub the new male cub with material from the bedding of his new siblings to help him gain acceptance from his new family. (Courtesy of Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden)
The male cub was then introduced to his new cheetah siblings. (Courtesy of Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden)
Etosha embraced the new cub, perhaps not even noticing he was not of her own litter. (Courtesy of Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden)
The new cub’s introduction to Etosha and her litter went seamlessly, Ms. Curley said, thanks to steps taken by zoo staff. After the cub was brought in from Oregon to Cincinnati Zoo, the keepers made sure to first take him to Etosha’s straw bed while the family was out, to rub him with urine and bedding from the other cubs. These scents helped him blend in right away.