Cheetah Cubs Clinging to Life in Incubator

Three cheetah cubs (2 males, 1 female), born at Orana Wildlife Park on Saturday afternoon, are fighting for their lives in incubators at Christchurch’s After Hours Veterinary Hospital. First time cheetah mother, Mazza (4) was herself born at the Park and she, along with her three brothers, was hand-raised by Park staff when their first time mother rejected them.

Zoological Manager, Rob Hall, says: “The three cubs have survived the critical 48 hour period and their chances of survival increases with each passing hour. One cub is nursing reasonably well which is great news but the other two are not feeding well at this point. Park staff, along with the team at the After Hours Hospital, are working around the clock tending to the needs of these cats.”

Mazza produced five cubs (3 males, 2 females) but sadly two have passed away in the last 24 hours. We are now awaiting an emergency post mortem which may provide information that helps us save the remaining cubs. First time cheetah mothers can often loose their litter due to inexperience. Mazza was observed on camera through the birth process and did not care for the cubs so the decision was made to take them from her. Two further cubs were found under a tree that was out of the camera’s view and their body temperature had dropped to critical levels.

Cheetah are a flagship conservation species for Orana Wildlife Park. Only a small number of zoos worldwide have experienced repeated breeding success with the species. To date eighteen cats have been raised to adulthood at Orana. Producing more cubs is a significant achievement, as cheetah are a notoriously difficult species to breed in captivity, and we are doing all we can for these precious cubs” concludes Rob.

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