Cheetah Update: Dusty

From your last update on Dusty, we’d like to tell you a bit more about her and what she has been doing over the past six-month period.

As you already know, Dusty shares an enclosure with her sister Blondi, and two other female cheetahs, Sandy and Leia. These cheetahs are excellent ambassadors to CCF and two to three times a week they thrill school groups, visitors and our own volunteers by demonstrating their athletic skills! All four girls chase a lure, showing incredible maneuverability while trying to snatch the lure in a flat-out run. Dusty is one of the best runners and seems to really enjoy the exercise. She is a picky eater and sometimes has to be coaxed to eat when she's given anything other than her favorite, donkey meat.

Dusty tipped the scales at 39 kilograms, just above average for a Namibian female cheetah (average is 36 kilograms). During her physical, she also had all the burrs combed out and one of our CCF volunteers and dentist, Dr. Larry Friedman, who came in January to assist with the medical workups, had to pull one of her molar teeth. After a course of antibiotics she is doing fine.