Animal Chit Chat show with cheetah - 1990

October 1990

Strange how there's no uproar about this big cat being walked on a lead

Note the date of the photo.

But zoos that continue these practices (including San Diego, Busch Gardens and Cincinnati in the US) are coming under increasing scrutiny and criticism for what are potentially dangerous and certainly mis-leading portrayals of powerful, wild animals. But at least in San Diego the cats have reasonably-sized enclosures to live in most of the time, unlike certain other facilities debated ad nauseum here.....

Hmm I haven't visited San Diego so I can't comment on that, cheetahs are apparently quite easily domesticated though.

ashley-h said:

Hmm I haven't visited San Diego so I can't comment on that, cheetahs are apparently quite easily domesticated apparently though.

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Until they kill someone, as happened last year in Europe. Siegfried and Roy claimed they had "tamed" their tigers too.....

Oh I'm sorry, can't this board take a joke?
And considering tigers are about 6 times the size I think it'd be easier to get killed by one of them than a cheetah to be honest.

ashley-h said:

Oh I'm sorry, can't this board take a joke?
And considering tigers are about 6 times the size I think it'd be easier to get killed by one of them than a cheetah to be honest.

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Sorry, I must have missed your subtle humor.

Yes, of course tigers are more dangerous. It doesn't mean cheetahs are harmless though. Just ask the lady whose neck was snapped by one last year.

reduakari said:

Just ask the lady whose neck was snapped by one last year.

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I think it's a bit late for that.

This animal was in the show, and there was a large, wide moat between the cheetah and the public. From memory, they used to have seals swimming in it for part of the show.

Having said that, this cheetah was very tame (it may have been handreared), and I got to meet it out the back in it's cage about a week later. Very friendly.