Australian Shepard Blakely Acts as a Surrogate Parent to a Baby Cheetah

By
Miranda B
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Cincinnati Zoo recently welcomed a baby cheetah Kris that was the lone survivor of a litter of three cubs brought to the world by cheetah Neena. Unfortunately, since one cub can’t stimulate cheetah mom to produce adequate milk supply, Kris had to be fed and taken care of by zookeepers. While this helped her survive, the time away from the cheetah’s mom could have robed the baby cheetah from learning some valuable lessons.

This is where Australian Shepard Blakely stepped in.

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Veteran nanny Blakely came out of retirement to help with baby cheetah that was the lone survivor of a litter of three born on July 7. Cheetah moms do not receive enough stimulation from a single cub to produce an adequate milk supply, so the Zoo’s expert neonate team stepped in. “We can provide nutrition, medical care and some of the TLC that baby animals need, but Blakely can serve as a role model, companion and surrogate parent for them,” said Cincinnati Zoo’s Head of Neonate Care Dawn Strasser. “Blakely will teach the cub animal etiquette and handle some of the social responsibilities, like snuggling, playing and disciplining, that would typically be performed by a mother.” The cub, named “Kris” after longtime Cat Ambassador Program (CAP) supporter Kris Kalnow, is healthy, active, and alert according to CAP leader Linda Castaneda. She added that she is “somewhat sassy”, which is a great quality for a strong runner. “We’re hoping that she’ll follow in the footsteps of eight-year-old Savannah, one of the fastest runners in the Zoo’s Cheetah Encounter and the first baby that Blakely helped raise.” #SavingSpecies #FridayFeeling

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Cincinnati Zoo announced that Blakely will act as a surrogate parent to Kris, and teach her everything that she would usually learn from her mother including basic animal behavior as well as how to snuggle and play.

“We put them together for the first time two days ago, and Blakely went into work mode,” – said Cincinnati Zoo’s Head of Neonate Care Dawn Strasser. “His nurturing and patience skills kicked in, and he sat still while the cub climbed on him and tried to figure out what to do with him.”

Check out Blakely and Kris getting to know each other and playing in the video below.

And here is the Kris running around and bonding with Blakely.

Blakely was Cincinnati Zoo’s nursery dog for six years, taking care of cubs that were separated from their parents or that became orphans. During his time with the zoo, this awesome dog served as a surrogate parent to cheetah cubs, but also foxes, wallabies, tiger cubs, and even goats. He retired in 2017 but ended up returning to service so he could help Kris.