Zoos pair up cheetahs and dogs to help the cheetahs survive

[Liberal_in_LA]

In this Nov. 29, 2012 photo, Shiley, a male cheetah 3-and-a-half-years-old, and Yeti, a female Anatolian shepherd who serves as Shiley's partner, take a break outside the elephant enclosure during a walk through Safari Park, in Escondido, Calif. Although the dogs and cats live together, they are not always with one another. Dogs have play dates with other dogs and humans, and they eat separately from the cheetahs. Photo: Lenny Ignelzi

"It is all about comforting and reassuring the cheetah," said Janet Rose-Hinostroza, animal training supervisor at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park — the top U.S. breeder of cheetahs in captivity. In the past 40 years, 135 cheetahs have been born at the park's breeding facility.

The cheetahs most often found at zoos and wildlife parks are not considered good breeding candidates, they don't relate well to other cheetahs, or they are abandoned by their mothers, Rose-Hinostroza said. But they seem to take easily to companion dogs and look to the dogs for play and example.

Of the 19 cheetahs at Safari Park, four have dogs. Four of the zoo's cheetahs also have dogs.

The dogs, usually from animal shelters, and cheetah pups generally are introduced when they are about 3 months old.

"In this relationship, the dog is dominant, but we look for dogs that want to be a buddy," Rose-Hinostroza said. "The dog always has the cat's back, but it's never the other way around. Dogs worry about their cats. They protect their cats."

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/news/science/article/Dogs-cross-species-barrier-help-cheetahs-survive-4270468.php#ixzz2KoRTh0Hf

[Arugula Latte]

1. Felines are the superior species on the planet and all others are there to serve them.

[Myrina]

2. Negative.

Dogs rule.

[kestrel91316]

36. Cats rule; dogs drool. Didn't you get the memo??

[awoke_in_2003]

39. Dogs are kiss asses. nt

[SheilaT]

66. Worse yet, a dog will like his own

ass (usually with great enthusiasm) and then want to lick your mouth. Ewww.

Any wonder I prefer cats?

[michigandem58]

59. Wait til that dog looks at the cheetah the wrong way!

Then we'll see what's up!

[jtuck004]

62. The Anatolian Shepherd is a guard dog, and the job is to attack and kill bears

and wolves that prey on the sheep or animals that they guard. That is what they were, and are, bred for. If you had ever seen an Anatolian in full-on battle mode, you might have a feel for what would could happen to that Cheetah.

[michigandem58]

64. Bring it!

[DeSwiss]

65. ....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anatolian_Shepherd#Use_in_Conservation

[jtuck004]

71. LOL. n/t

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

6. I'm still cracking up over the penguins. Thanks.

[Arugula Latte]

7. You're welcome.

[barbtries]

61. me too

i haven't seen it in years i may have to gank that graphic so i can look at it whenever i feel like it

[OneGrassRoot]

13. Me, too!

[SharonAnn]

54. I've always loved the GIF. Penguins! Who would've expected that from a penguin?

[freshwest]

8. Well, of course:

[truedelphi]

28. I love that graphic. It certainly explains the "Cat attitude" n/t

[awoke_in_2003]

40. We know that is a lie...

cats rest every day.

[freshwest]

47. Lie or lay? Everyone's a critic. :(

[awoke_in_2003]

49. Nah, just kidding around...

a cat's first priority is sleep

[freshwest]

50. Ah, but Ceiling Cat never sleeps and knows everything you do, it's rumored.

Thanks for the Just kidding. Tough Room...

[Kennah]

56. A cat would never lie. It was the dog's fault.

[rhett o rick]

60. Never assume a cat is sleeping. They are plotting. nm

[beevul]

24. Someone forgot to send the memo to the pomeranians.

They're "cat police" like no other dogs I've ever seen lol.

Ours break up fights on the rare occasion our cats fight, and "cuss them out" whenever they get up on the counters.

[Arugula Latte]

41. That's hilarious.

[beevul]

45. It truly is.

You wouldn't think that these little loveable furballs would have such courage, but they really do.

Most of the cats are bigger than they are lol.

And they even make the eskies wait their turn to eat. The eskies are 35ish pounds, and the pommies are like...3 pounds lol.

Makes me chuckle every time.

[SheilaT]

67. We used to have a cat that would swear at us.

It was just so obvious, in context, that if we could somehow have translated the sounds, it would have been quite graphically not fit for young ears.

[SharonAnn]

53. Yes! Dogs have "owners". Cats have "staff".

[xxqqqzme]

3. When the cheetahs

are walked out, during the information/education part, the dog is right there walking along. It is a pretty amazing site.

[Liberal_in_LA]

9. sounds cool.

[alfredo]

27. Pets have pets.

[freshwest]

31. Yes!

[truedelphi]

29. Back in the early 1980's, there was a zookeeper at Brookfield Zoo

Outside of Chicago that had a cheetah as his special pet. He would let people come into a small outdoor enclosure and pet the cheetah, who was a totally sweet and loveable fellow. I have never forgotten the moments I spent with that cheetah.

[meow2u3]

4. Some of those dogs ought to be greyhounds

This way, the dogs and cheetahs can race.

[Brigid]

33. Saw somebody try that once on TV.

Needless to say, the greyhound ate some dust.

[NoGOPZone]

37. Yeah, but only up to to 500 meter mark nt

[alsame]

5. Dogs always improve

your life, whether you're human or another species

[PETRUS]

11. ...

[freshwest]

10. I have owned dogs that were of this type and they are selfless protectors.

Really good to see these two and the other animals doing well. A really nice story for today. Thanks for posting it.

[SoCalDem]

19. I have a friend with a border collie & 2 Australian shephards

They moved to the "boonies" and one day she heard a lot of barking & feared a coyote might be challenging their dogs (even though she had never seen any loitering around)..

she opened the slider and saw that they had "herded" 4 wild burros into her yard, and were actually thinking about "bringing them inside"...

she called animal control and only then found out that their property backed up to a wild burro "preserve"..

They had to build a very tall privacy fence so the dogs could not see the burros...apparently two had jumped the fence and one had dug under to get to the burros..

The dogs could not resist the opportunity to do their "job"..

[blaze]

22. Hahaha!!! Great story!! nt

[freshwest]

25. Yes, I have some stories I could tell but don't have the time. Thanks for that one.

They most definitely would have gone to protect those burros, you bet.

[SharonAnn]

55. A friend has a border collie who always tries to keep the guests "herded" together.

When we go from cocktails into dinner he goes crazy, running around until we all sit down. Then, when we get up after dinner, he really goes nuts when some of us clear the table, others wash dishes, and others get out the coffee and liqueurs.

His "herd" is not together! Then, when we sit down together, he relaxes a bit.

He just can't help herding.

[SheilaT]

68. I hate to be the one to break this to you,

but the odds are high that your guests really do not enjoy this behavior.

It would be thoughtful to your guests to have the dog in another room when you have humans visiting.

[LibertyLover]

73. During the herding group judging at this year's Westminster Dog Show

the border collie was introduced. The commentator mentioned that the dog lived on a 200 acre farm in California and that he had his own sheep for herding. I looked at my 2 greyhounds and whippet sacked out on the couch and decided I wouldn't need to get them a sheep.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

12. It takes "herding cats" to a whole new level.

[OneGrassRoot]

14. Wonderful story. K&R :) n/t

[xchrom]

15. Du rec. Nt

[aikoaiko]

16. Dogeetah! I had hoped this was a genetic experiment.

But the reality is a much better story.

[Fuddnik]

32. They already bred a cheetah with a velcro.

Came up with a velveeta.

[tclambert]

42. That's a cheesy joke.

[forestpath]

17. So sweet!

[geardaddy]

18. Saw this on "Nature" on PBS

about cross-species relationships. It was a great episode.

[a la izquierda]

20. In the article, the author mentions something interesting...

that I'd heard just last night. There are organizations that bring Anatolian Shepherds to Kenya for farmers. The shepherds protect the herds, and then farmers don't feel the need to shoot cheetahs that might've threatened the herds I. The past.

Neat stuff, thanks for posting

[joeybee12]

21. Amazing...knr!

[obamanut2012]

23. Very cool!

[hamsterjill]

26. Wonderful story.

Nature can co-exist, and celebrate strengths in assisting other weaknesses. Too bad mankind seems to continually refuse to do that.

[Lady Freedom Returns]

30. I remember watching "Nature" and one show said that...

Cheetahs had more in common, DNA common that is, to Dogs more than other cats. Could that be part of why the get along?

[kaiden]

34. That is not an Anatolian Shepherd. That is an Akbash. Same country,

same job, different breed altogether.

Nice story, though.

[nolabear]

35. The Right Wingers said it would come to this.

[OnyxCollie]

63. Dogs and cats laying together.

It was prophesied in the Bible.

Atticus, Chapter 11, Section 8, Paragraph (3)(f), second footnote (King James version.)

[ReRe]

38. Thanks...

That was beautiful!

[tclambert]

43. Rick Santorum's nightmare!

[Uncle Joe]

44. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, Liberal_in_LA.

[Sunlei]

46. That is so cool. Cheetahs must have been domesticated for a couple centuries in our pre history

Then the domestic breeding made them more docile towards other species (able to live with humans,the domestic dog) Still having the ability to go back to a fully wild cat they retained the breeding genetics and that change to their temperament.

[G_j]

48. K&R

[narnian60]

51. Look at that cheetah.

I am so awed by the beauty of animals. Of course, I am loving that gorgeous dog, too.

[nadine_mn]

52. This is such a great story

I knew cheetahs had breeding issues but I had no idea that they were really so fragile compared to the other big cats. Dogs make everything better so I can see how this works. We have 2 rescue dogs and a rescue cat (at one point having 4 rescue dogs, but the older two have since crossed over) and our cat totally owns them. He sleeps on their beds, eats out of their dishes, and plays with them. I love watching them interact - the dogs love him so much and sleep with him and watch over him.

[JCMach1]

57. In Nairobi, they will often raise the big cat kittens together

There are many orphan cheetahs I am afraid...

I knew someone in the Kenya Wildlife Service, so got to meet some of these beautiful creatures up close and personal... they actually purr like house cats and can be domesticated relatively easily (unlike lions and leopards).

[Liberal_in_LA]

70. cheetash seem to be either lying on their sides or running super fast, no in between

[JCMach1]

72. they are quite sweet

For a wild animal capable of ripping your throat out...

[LibertyLover]

74. Years ago I was visiting a friend in Florida

She knew someone who had a tiger cub, a lioness and 2 mountain lions. The husband and wife were quasi-professional magicians and used the lioness and tiger cub in their stage act. The mountain lions were basically for commercials. Anyway we went over to their house and played with the tiger cub, who, come to think of it, had a golden retriever for a companion, and then went into the cage to pet the lioness. She was only 350 pounds, not quite fully grown, and very friendly. Let me tell you - could she purr. There were 3 of us petting her at the same time and she was purring and you could feel her whole body pulse with it.

[Heywood J]

58. It takes a virile dog to get a cheetah pregnant?

[PatSeg]

69. What a cool story