“Wanted – a name for a cheetah cub”: that’s the challenge that Fota Wildlife Park has set people this May Bank Holiday Weekend as they invite members of the public to come up with names for their four latest arrivals to the east Cork nature reserve.
Head ranger Julien Fonteneau explained that the four cubs were born on February 26th to mother Gráinne, a six year old female, who was born in Fota Wildlife Park, and father Sam, who was born in the Wadi Al Safa Wildlife Centre, Dubai, UAE and came to Fota in 2017.
Grainne and Sam had successfully mated previously when Grainne gave birth to four cubs in March 2020 though sadly one cub did not survive, and a year later, Grainne mated with another male, Archie, and gave birth to five cubs in August of that year.
“I am delighted our four new cheetah cubs are thriving. It is lovely to see them develop and to watch them explore their leafy habitat on Cheetah Hill. They enjoy being outside and have just started to join their Mum during feeding where they pull and lick the food,” said Mr Fonteneau.
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“We value the importance of participating in European Endangered Species breeding programmes. This year we are celebrating 40 years at Fota Wildlife Park and over 240 cheetah cubs, through breeding programmes, have been born at the park since it opened in 1983.
Mr Fonteneau explained that the four new arrivals are Northern cheetah cubs, a sub species which is native to northeast Africa and is considered endangered by the International Union of Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as there are less than 700 Northern cheetahs left in the wild.
Cheetahs generally have a three-month gestation period and on average have litters of four cubs with cubs averaging between 150g to 400g with the new arrivals taking on average 24 months to grow to adulthood when they can weigh between 34 kgs and 64 kgs.
Slender bodies, long legs and a flexible spine help the cheetah achieve speeds in excess of 100kph in pursuit of its prey, with its tail acting as a finely-tuned balancing aid, making it the fastest land animal in the world today.
Females are solitary creatures – in contrast to males, who live in groups – with cheetahs living on average for between eight and ten years in the wild and for between 12 and 15 years in human care in zoos and wildlife parks.
Mr Fonteneau said that staff at Fota Wildlife Park are eagerly looking forward to seeing what names members of the public propose for the four new cubs whom they expect to prove a hugely popular attraction with the 460,000 people who visit the park each year.
“Members of the public can vote to name the cubs via an online form on www.fotawildlife.ie/news and we are looking forward to hearing from each entrant, who will be in with a chance to win one of four Conservation annual passes to Fota Wildlife Park.”
