That is a great story. I wish I'd been there to see it.
Foster family helps baby cheetahs survive
Smithsonian staff steps in to help rear cubs to increase chances of survival
The Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute welcomed two furry new additions. Two cheetah cubs were born at the Virginia facility on Dec. 6 and Dec. 16 to two different mothers.
Although zoo staff say the tiny cats are now doing well, it was rough going for the cubs at first. Both babies were single births, a circumstance that can be problematic.
When cheetah mothers give birth to only one cub, they can't produce enough milk to keep the baby alive. In the wild, cheetah mothers will typically let these single babies die. The mothers will then breed again soon thereafter. But thanks to some human intervention, both zoo cubs have survived.
When Zazi, the second cheetah to give birth, also produced only one cub, "we decided it was the perfect opportunity to give both cubs a chance at survival as one litter under her care without any additional interference by us," Crosier said. "Only a few institutions in North America have ever successfully cross-fostered cheetah cubs and this is a first for SCBI."
This newly created litter of two will likely help stimulate milk production from Zazi. Indeed, researchers have observed both cubs nursing from the 9-year-old mother cheetah.
These births are especially significant, as cheetah births in zoos across the country have dwindled over the past five years, worrying animal care managers about the sustainability of the North American population in human care. More than one-third of the female cheetahs that are part of a national effort to breed the big cats are older, and researchers have found that after eight years of age they do not reproduce well.
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/40840652/ns/today-tech_and_science/#
