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A full grown cheetah and a shepherd dog rubbing noses at the San Diego Wild Animal Park isn’t what I expected…especially as a main attraction. But there they both were. According to Mike, a handler at the park, the two were raised together. When Majani the Cheetah was a cub, a gentle puppy was found at the Humane Society to be his companion. From that point on, they were inseparable. The dog has become the “weathervane” for Majani. In the midst of noise and activity if the dog is calm, so is Majani. If the dog wants to play, so does Majani. Talk about a behavior management program! Trainers at the park provide important education sessions for park goers about cheetahs. We always knew their long legs helped when running after prey. But we learned that a flexible spine combined with those powerful legs can take him from 0 to 40 mph in just 3 strides. And in only 4 seconds, he will be sprinting at 60 mph. That’s 20 to 22 feet per stride…faster than a race horse! This cat can turn on a dime, too. In fact, cheetahs are the only cats that can turn in mid-air when sprinting. All this action heats up his body quickly. During a fast paced hunt, his body temperature will reach 105 degrees. His muscles heat up, his breathing gets heavy, and his claws act like an athlete’s cleats. It takes at least 20 minutes for all systems to return to normal. Majani is a 130-pound full grown male cheetah. His loud purrs interrupted by chirrups indicated pure contentment. Every now and then he would look at the dog. But no amount of children shouting, people clapping, or flashes from cameras only a few feet from his face could faze him. Today Majani was relaxing…resting after his stroll on a leash through the park. No one would guess they call him “the boss”. Not boss of the dog, or even boss of the trainers…Boss of the Whole Animal Park! That’s because people come to see him. According to Mike, people come to see cheetahs…and they want to see them up close and personal. Today we were less than 3 feet from this regal looking cat, close enough to gaze into his topaz colored eyes. At times his purring could be heard above Mike’s talking. . Cheetahs are endangered. Inbreeding, loss of habitat and people are issues cheetahs face. About 100 years ago there were around 100,000 cheetahs in the wild. Today there are 12,000. The San Diego Zoo and Wild Animal Park’s department of Conservation & Research for Endangered Species has been working to solve some of the breeding problems of cheetahs. This program also hopes to teach people about cheetahs and their shrinking habitats. When Majani was finished being admired, he stood up, stretched as only a cat can, and sharpened his claws on a bale of straw. The education session was over. The Boss was ready to go. Joining his dog companion, they nuzzled noses and foreheads and off they went…both on their leashes. Cheetahs are solitary creatures. Majani apparently doesn’t know this. Back to TheTraveler.
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