News and Stories

Happy International Cheetah Day! This year, the 3 cheetah cubs born last November, Zola, Lulu, and Kiara, have grown to be around 75 lbs. They have become a huge part of our Cat Ambassador Program and have inspired guests at our zoo and all over the world. Whether seeing them run around and play in the yard during our cheetah chats or observing the process of them becoming skilled runners on our lure system, they have grown to be excellent ambassadors for their species. Ambassador animals help to ignite passion for wildlife and encourage conservation efforts that benefit their wild counterparts.

Unfortunately, the cheetah is the most endangered big cat species in Africa, with fewer than 7,000 individuals left. This is due to several factors including habitat fragmentation and human-wildlife conflicts. To help combat some of these issues, Cincinnati Zoo partners with an organization called Cheetah Outreach Trust. This organization raises, trains, and provides livestock guardian dogs to farmers in Africa! The guardian dogs are able to help protect the farmers’ livestock animals from predation by African predators and are highly successful in reducing conflict between farmers and predators. When you visit the Cincinnati Zoo and see our cheetahs in action at the Cheetah Encounter, a portion of the ticket sales goes to supporting amazing conservation organizations such as this one.

Along with growing in size this past year, Zola, Lulu, and Kiara have also developed big personalities. Kiara, the largest, is great at training and is typically able to pick up on things a little quicker than her sisters. Zola has notoriously been the “mischievous” one, and you might have seen her chewing and biting on her sister’s tail (typically Kiara) by our cheetah moat earlier this year. Lulu loves playing with her enrichment toys and has developed into quite the soccer superstar.  All 3 enjoy attention from their trainers!

It is important for trainers to have a strong relationship with the animals in our care to ensure their comfort and to help with training. Because of the bond we’ve established, the girls have learned to walk on a leash so they can easily move to other areas in the Zoo and off site. They’ve also been taught a tail blood draw behavior to help with their medical care and are mastering the lure system.

If you have been to our Cathryn Hilker Running yard this year, you may have seen Zola, Lulu, and Kiara practicing on the lure system. Our lure system consists of a fluffy dog toy attached to a wheel they instinctually chase around our yard. We started them with a small route and worked up to them running the full perimeter of the yard! They were initially unsure of the lure, but they got the hang of it as their confidence increased. It takes practice to become the fastest runners in the world!

Make sure to come visit our cheetah encounter next year to see Zola, Lulu, and Kiara reach speeds upwards of 70 mph. It is a sight that never gets old!