Chester Zoo Questions and comments about Chester Zoo

well i just gave the information given to me do with it what you choose and im sure they have bred cheetahs in the past as the carnivore keeper reared them at home or it maybe that he told me he had reared cheetahs before

one thing i do remember is that these cheetahs are used to human contact and there would be no problem with going in with them not that i would want to risk it lol

going into asoccas den was enough for me and there were bars between us lol
 
I am pretty sure that they have never bred cheetahs, unless they died very young and there was no publicity. But even then it would have been recorded on the end of year stats. Maybe the keeper had previously worked in another zoo where they had been successful.

I'm not saying Chester should not have cheetahs, not at all. But if this really was a subspecies new to captivity then a zoo with prior breeding results would surely be the best place for them.

Any ideas what the "animals new to Europe" coming to Chester are? Unless this refers to Asian cheetahs...
 
Chester never bred cheetahs. It was an ambition of Michael Brambell to breed them, but he did not achieve it.

Chris Walton, if the keeper you are referring to is Alan Woodward he has been at Chester since 1974 and previous to that worked at Barry zoo which doesn't sound like a place to have bred cheetahs. Alan did unsuccessfully try to handrear a binturong in 1974, and he has had some success in handrearing gazelles, sealions and lions as far as I know.

Pygrathrix I agree with you that any cheetah cubs which died early on would have been listed in the appropriate year's animal inventory, unless perhaps they were still born but it is something I have never heard and I think still born mammals are lsited by Chester anyway.

I expect within a year or two the question 'have cheetahs ever bred at Chester?' will have been answered once and for all by the sight of cheetah cubs.
 
That breeding center in the Arabian Emirates houses the north east african subspecies of cheetas, not iranian ones. I am 100% sure about this. It`s very nice that Chester is getting is rare subspecies instead of the pretty common south african subspecies.
 
yes it was uncle alan lol i think he showed me a pic in one of his photo albums but i could be wrong

as for the cheetahs i suppose you will just have to wait till they get here to find out lol
 
chris_walton said:
Hi - they are Iranian cheetahs and are due within the next couple of months, they will be coming from the Arab Emirates and so should fit in with the zoning. Impossible? I think not. A couple of keepers are due to possibly fly out to see them beforehand.
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chris_walton,

It is surely interesting what you come up with! However, to put a dumper on this wonderful perspective: In the UAE several captive Iranian cheetahs were kept previously, but these died out in the 1990's. Since then, IR of Iran has not been keen to release any cheetah abroad. Currently, plans exist to set up a breeding station in the UAE with Iranian cheetah (but I have not heard any more since last May). The Iranians are working first capturing and on radio-collaring cheetahs in their homeland (to study their biology and ranging behaviour). The captive-breeding component may come on line when this study is 2-3 years old and more than a dozen cheetahs have been captured and followed up.

So if you are correct to assume Chester is getting Iranians ex UAE, I really wish you can come up with more details than this, e.g. which collection, what origins, breeding data etcetera (and if some obscure collection still owns Iranian cheetahs this is surely by illegal means).

Anyhow, next year I am planning to go over to IR of Iran and participate in field activities with Iranian scientists as a volunteer. Then, I want to find out a lot more (the Iranian cheetah govt. site is currently shut down ... US conspiracy ...???) regarding their current status (estimates at 60-100 at present) and the captive-breeding project). :)

So, again please recheck your story with keepers using the above info!!!!! For now, I also eat .....


*****

I am still convinced that what you are actually getting at Chester (and this in itself is good) a few pairs of the north-eastern African cheetah Acinonyx jubatus soemmerringii. UAE currently has 3 inscribed bona fide collections: Butti al Matkoum, Dubai, Arabian Desert Park, Sjarjah and Wadi al Safa Park, Dubai. Amongst these 3 collections they have 53.39 soemmeringii.

The EEP for north-eastern African cheetah in continental Europe currently numbers 5.5 of UAE descent (all captive-bred) at 3 collections and Chester Zoo would be a welcome 4th participant.
 
dragging the discussion back to the exhibit being built for them at chester. Does anyone know how they are going to be enclosed? e.g. chainlink fence like the tigers/lions or will there be some kind of moat/ditch?
 
taun said:
dragging the discussion back to the exhibit being built for them at chester. Does anyone know how they are going to be enclosed? e.g. chainlink fence like the tigers/lions or will there be some kind of moat/ditch?
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From the plans posted in the gallery, it appears to be a ditch and then some glass viewing windows.
 
ok guys apparently this is where the mix up comes from they are 100% asian cheetahs being held in iran and thats what ive have just been told apparently they did look into getting the irainians but have not decided which to go with so we will still have to wait and see what arrives

can i just say i stand corrected lol
 
chris_walton said:
ok guys apparently this is where the mix up comes from they are 100% asian cheetahs being held in iran and thats what ive have just been told apparently they did look into getting the irainians but have not decided which to go with so we will still have to wait and see what arrives
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Keep us informed as to further developments on the Asian cheetah project. It really would make a huge difference if a captive-breeding project can come off the ground outside range. I am still sceptical that Chester Zoo - having no experience with breeding cheetah long-term - will be the first candidate to initiate the captive-breeding project.

The likely destination - I think given their history with this subspecies is the UAE - and perhaps a second group staying inside Iran (remember Tehran Zoo used to have an orphaned cheetah female in the collection and has had experience in their care for 10 years or more) safeguarding the captive stock against extinction and for educational purposes in the range country (also very important: if people can not see what rare wild animals they have, they can not learn to appreciate and protect them).

For now, I am really interested where these captive cheetah - I do not doubt your info - are currently held. It means that the Iranians have already decided that for problem cheetahs or those at risk of extinction are better off in a captive-breeding environment. I will check also with my own sources in Iran to see what is going on! :cool:

Anyway, cheers and much obliged!

Jelle
 
taun said:
dragging the discussion back to the exhibit being built for them at chester. Does anyone know how they are going to be enclosed? e.g. chainlink fence like the tigers/lions or will there be some kind of moat/ditch?
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Looking at the site of the enclosure today, the stone wall of the existing haha beside the footpath is being retained, but the plans show a fence as well - I don't think the haha would stop a cheetah. The space for the viewing area in the corner of compound 2 (on the other side of the path from the ruffed lemurs) has been levelled. I imagine it will be quite like the one for the hunting dogs at Edinburgh, but rather larger.
Work on the bridge and the raised pathway across compound 1 is continuing and there has been some landscaping of the two compounds. The building for the camels and wild asses, which will also hold the cheetah indoor dens has been spruced up and part of the fence has been screened temporarily - I wouldn't be surprised if that fence is replaced by an opaque barrier of some sort. I hope they do the same along the public footpath (Flag Lane) at the back of the cheetah compound too.

Alan
 
Regarding opaque barriers, it wouldn't surprise me to see Chester using vertical logs in the cheetah enclosure that are lodged into the ground, similar to the ones which create off-show areas behind the house in the Asian Rhino paddock...

Just going off slightly, i really like the look of these barriers as they look better than mock rock or metal (which is my one pet peeve of Realm of the Red Ape).
 
chris_walton said:
one thing i do remember is that these cheetahs are used to human contact and there would be no problem with going in with them not that i would want to risk it lol
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Cheetahs have a totally different temperament to other large cats- they are timid and nervous in the extreme. I think you can go in with any Cheetah and be confident it will retreat from you, never attack, like a nervous dog. I don't think they can actually do much more harm than a domestic cat....
 
Oh they can... in 2007, a cheetah killed a female visitor in Olmen Zoo in Belgium. It was a very strange story - she was a regular visitor and had "adopted" a cheetah, they were her favourite animals and if I remember right she had close contact with the zoo and the keepers and she was allowed to go in with the cheetahs often. That day she was killed she went into the enclosure alone (not sure if she was given a key by zoo staff or if she took the key) and was found dead into the enclosure later. The Olmense Zoo was critized harsh for allowing visitors to have such close contact to its big cats, and I think things have changed since.
 
Well, that's weird. :confused: I though they were physically incapable of doing any real damage? After all, they've got only semi-retractile claws and comparatively weak jaws. I've seen keepers go in with cheetahs to clean their enclosure (many years ago), the cheetahs just hissed and spat and stayed as far away as possible....
 
Seems enough to kill an adult if they really want. I know it`s common that keepers go in with cheetahs, in Münster Zoo they used to walk a hand-raised cheetah on the leash through the zoo on days with few visitors. But what happened in Olmen is proof that things can go wrong with cheetah`s too. It`s very rare, though.
 
Mind you, large dogs in unsuitable situations can very occassionally be lethal too- not only to babies and small children. In UK recently a Rottweiller suddenly attacked a kennel attendant who was playing with it and badly mauled her arms- she later had one amputated. I suppose if it had got her on the floor and reached her head/throat, it could have killed her too.

I still think your example above must be an extremely rare occurrence for a Cheetah though- I've never ever thought of them as potentially 'dangerous' animals........ until now.:(
 
Yassa said:
Oh they can... in 2007, a cheetah killed a female visitor in Olmen Zoo in Belgium. It was a very strange story - she was a regular visitor and had "adopted" a cheetah, they were her favourite animals and if I remember right she had close contact with the zoo and the keepers and she was allowed to go in with the cheetahs often. That day she was killed she went into the enclosure alone (not sure if she was given a key by zoo staff or if she took the key) and was found dead into the enclosure later. The Olmense Zoo was critized harsh for allowing visitors to have such close contact to its big cats, and I think things have changed since.
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Perhaps the cheetah felt a little worried or threatened if the woman tried to get a bit too close. I doubt they would ever attack maliciously.
 
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