Busch Gardens Tampa has welcomed two new adorable additions – three-month-old cheetah cubs. The Busch Gardens animal care team is providing 24-hour-care as the cubs continue to get stronger and explore their new home.
The cubs were born on Nov. 22, 2014 and weigh approximately 12 pounds. Their names, which were given by the Busch Gardens animal care team, are Tendai, meaning “thankful,” and Thabo, meaning “joy.”
Busch Gardenszoo curator, Laura Wittish, shares some insight on the cheetah cubs and their cute personalities.
“Tendai has the tendency to be the first one to explore new things and areas and is more curious than his brother,” she says, “Thabo is more watchful from a distance and then jumps in once he sees that Tendai is having fun.”
Once the cubs are old enough, they will start their own coalition as part of Cheetah Run, the innovative cheetah habitat that opened alongside Busch Gardens’ triple-launch coaster, Cheetah Hunt, in 2011. Until then, guests can see the cubs at various times throughout the day in the Edge of Africa area of the park, or by taking an Animal Care Center Behind The Scenes tour.
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Cheetahs are included on both the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) list of vulnerable species as well as on the US Endangered Species Act list of threatened species. Upon reaching maturity, the cubs may also become an important part of Busch Gardens’ cheetah breeding program that will help boost the cheetah population.
These births are part of Busch Gardens’ participation in the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ (AZA) Species Survival Plan® (SSP). The mission of the SSP is to cooperatively manage specific, and typically threatened or endangered, species populations within AZA-accredited facilities. Busch Gardens’ participation helps create genetically diverse, self-sustaining populations to guarantee the long-term future of these animals.
Busch Gardens is owned by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment™, one of the world’s foremost zoological organizations and a worldwide leader in animal welfare, training, husbandry and veterinary care. The company cares for one of the largest animal collections in North America and has helped lead advances in the care of species in zoological facilities and in the conservation of wild populations.
Visit the cubs throughout the year and watch them grow with a Busch Gardens Fun Card. And for a limited time, you can get a FREE Adventure Island Fun Card!
Stay connected with the cubs' progress on Busch Gardens' Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, where we will be posting more photos, videos and blogs about Tendai and Thabo.
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