Cheetahs

Over the years we have enjoyed benefits of having Cheryl and Dave work for the Smithsonian.  Our most recent special treatment was a visit to the Smithsonian National Zoological Park Cheetah Science Facility located at Front Royal in the Shenandoahs.  While part of the National Zoo, the facility, located on a former military base, is not open to the public but intended for research to protect at risk animals.  Cheryl arranged a private tour there for the five of us. 

Adrienne, a reproductive scientist who works with the cheetahs, explained the zoo’s care and breeding program.  The US population is not self-sustaining as there are fewer and fewer cheetahs bred in zoos so they must continue to acquire cheetahs from international zoos as well as from southern Africa.

Cheetahs bear two to three young in a three-month pregnancy; however females may seem pregnant (pseudopregnancy) for a couple of months and not be.  This gives the keepers only a month to be sure a birth is about to occur.  Since the program is aimed at making the cheetahs sustainable, other breeding techniques such as IVF and surrogacy are being studied.

 

Adrienne took us to the enclosures where we got fairly close to these cats.  The males and females are in separate sections and isolated from each other unless they are intended to breed.  To increase socialization most enclosures have two or three animals.  Sometimes responding to Adrienne’s call, the cheetahs came up to the fence where we were able to admire their beautiful markings and sleek bodies. 

As we drove through the facility we also saw cranes, rare deer, oryx and bison.

We were most fortunate to have this unique experience.