Species Survival Plans
Cheetah
ANIMALS
Species Survival Plans
Last year , giraffe Johari gave birth to a male calf named Floyd and we were elated to welcome him to our tower . Though we were excited for the opportunity to witness this beautiful animal grow and mature , as zookeepers at a facility
... to maintain genetic diversity and combat population declines in the wild . accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums ( AZA ), we also realized this birth was essential to sustaining giraffe as a species in human care as well as the wild .
Species Survival Plans ( SSPs ) are breeding programs overseen by AZA to ensure that enough animals of certain species exist to maintain genetic diversity and combat population declines in the wild . Each SSP is tied to a Program Leader or Coordinator as well as the accredited facility they are affiliated with .
SSPs provide essential information about the species in human care , such as a list of every individual in the program and detailed guidelines for their well-being as well as opportunities to aid their wild counterparts . Last year , for example , the jaguar SSP asked facilities participating in the program to donate funds to support the salaries of park rangers protecting wild jaguars in Belize .
Nearly 500 species have SSPs and we participate in several dozen , most notably for Masai giraffe , jaguars , Baird ’ s tapirs , white-faced saki monkeys , Mexican spider monkeys and Visayan warty pigs . We are also the proud sponsor of the Chilean flamingo SSP , overseen by curator Dave Quavillon .
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Cheetah
We ’ re always improving animal wellness . Sometimes this is a small change like a new diet or training plan , or a radical upheaval like revamping a species ’ entire husbandry protocol . Cheetahs are a sensitive species and we felt our four female cheetahs needed a big change . Their body type , habits and physiology are quite different from most big cats ’, which means their requirements are rather unique ; this often leads to issues like gastrointestinal ailments , obesity and poor overall health .
We started with their diet . We changed their meat to reflect more of what they would eat in the wild as well as added whole prey in the form of rabbits weekly . We added a fast day and changed their feeding schedule to once daily . All these changes reflect a more natural way of eating for the cheetah . They are regularly run on a special lure to stimulate their hunting instincts . Finally , we are in the planning stages of altering the landscape in their enclosure to better match their native habitat . We have already seen improvements in their wellness and we are excited about the future of cheetahs at the Zoo !