Prized super fast big cats have a home in Alberta for first time in almost two decades
Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 |
BY JOHNNIE BACHUSKY
Serena Bos interacts with Robin the cheetah while Annie looks on. Noel West/MVP Staff
The two cheetahs – Robin, a two-year-old 100-pound male and female Annie, who also tips the scales at the same weight, are on loan to the local zoo from an Ontario couple for the 2014 spring to fall season.
Doug Boss, co-owner of Discovery Wildlife Park, said he hopes the cheetahs will be a big hit with visitors when the zoo opens its gates on May 1 to officially start the season. “We are excited to have them here because they are the first ones since Al Oeming had cheetahs in Alberta,” said Bos. “It has been many, many years since Al had his cheetahs and going around to the schools and the malls and promoting cheetah conservation. We are excited to be promoting that here as we will be doing that in our talks.”
Oeming was well known in the province for his world-renowned Alberta Game Farm near Edmonton and across Canada for bringing his cheetah Tawana to schools, malls and seniors' homes to educate people on exotic animals. His game farm closed in 1998 following repeated pressure from animal-rights activists. Oeming passed away March 17 at the age of 88.
The two cheetahs now at Discovery Wildlife Park are the first of the unique big cat species to be housed at an Alberta zoo in almost 20 years. The cheetah can run faster than any other land animal— as swift as 112 to 120 km/h with the ability to accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in three seconds.
The cheetah, which is generally smaller than most other big cats, is also unique in that it's one of the few members of the big cat family with semi-retractable claws. And unlike lions, tigers and jaguars, cheetahs can purr as they inhale, but do not roar.
They also require extra special attention at any zoo fortunate enough to house them. “They are such a touchy animals to raise,” said Bos. “A lot of zoos don't want to be bothered with them because they are so genetically tight and they have a digestive system that requires very lean meat all the time and they can't have a lot of fat. “We can't feed them regular beef or anything like that,” added Bos. “It has to be deer or venison meat and what we predominantly feed them now is horsemeat because it is very, very lean, which is very expensive to acquire all the time too.”
While Alberta's last cheetahs under Oeming were highly social and able to visit public areas and regularly mingle with animal lovers, Robin and Annie will just be display guests at Discovery Wildlife Park. “We won't be able to do the stuff Al Oeming did like taking them out to malls or have them on a leash and walk them or do photos. They just haven't been trained properly for that type of thing,” said Bos. “But people will see them. They will be on display every day. They are very gregarious. They like people and are usually up by the fence. They are not hiding and hard to see. People should have a good experience when they come.”
In addition to the prized cheetahs, Discovery Wildlife Park is also showcasing Gruff the orphaned black bear cub this season. “Nobody had much of a chance to see Gruff last year. Because he was a bit older when he came and it took a lot of work to settle him down,” said Bos. “He has really come along and we will be doing some stuff with him.
He said the zoo is also hopeful to land some lions, possibly as early as this fall. Officials at Discovery Wildlife Park were recently in Nevada to talk to their counterparts there about acquiring a King of the Jungle for Innisfail, said Bos, who is also trying to secure some grizzly bear cubs for the local zoo.
In the meantime, Bos said staff at Discovery Wildlife Park are “frantically” getting the 90-acre zoo in tip-top shape for its first visitors on opening day. “We are frantically trying to get ready this year,” said Bos, whose zoo is coming off a record-breaking attendance year in 2013. “The snow didn't go away. Last weekend I was still moving four feet of snow off the paths and I've been moving snow away that had piled up and was stockpiled. It all had to be broke up and dealt with and get melted and be reasonably dry.”
Bos said his season will begin with its parking lot expanded by 50 per cent, and the new road across the creek completed. He said the new road was an expensive project that will ultimately give visitors access to the future parking lot on the zoo side of the creek, as well as benefiting visitors who want to camp at the zoo.
Discovery Wildlife Park has also increased the number of rental golf carts this year from five to seven, which Bos says will be an increased convenience for seniors and handicapped citizens. “The demand for them from seniors and handicapped citizens and people bringing out their parents is getting pretty high,” said Bos. “This just enables those seniors and handicapped citizens to come out for a day with their families when they would not normally be able to.”
For further information on the Discovery Wildlife Park's 2014 season visit www.discoverywildlifepark.com or on Facebook.
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