#CheetahCubdate 8: Little Home on the Grasses

Cheetah mom Rosalie and her five cubs continue to do well and live between the den without a web camera and the tall grasses in their yard. While we know our loyal Cheetah Cub Cam viewers are sad not to be able to watch them, rest assured keepers continue to check in on the cubs daily.

The move wasn’t a huge surprise to us. We noticed Rosalie checking out the second den in her yard late last week. She ultimately chose to move the cubs to the tall grasses and then into a new, third den we added to the yard. Sometimes we find our cheetah moms simply want a third option. Sure enough, Rosalie started utilizing the third den shortly after we gave it to her.

This new enclosed den is exactly the same as the den she and the cubs were spending time in previously. The only difference is that it is not equipped with a webcam. As I’ve mentioned in previous updates, we cannot (and would not) move the cameras to this new den. The process is technically difficult and could be disruptive to Rosalie and the cubs.

To bring you up to speed on their development, Rosalie’s cubs are 4 weeks old now. At this age, they start learning to follow their mom in and out of the den. They are also approaching the age we start offering them meat to eat, which is normally around 5-6 weeks old. Animal care staff will continue to check on the cubs daily, and we will keep you updated on their progress. Stay tuned, as Rosalie could move them back into a den with a web camera any time!

Missing the cheetah cubs? Make sure to catch up on our previous updates!