Cheetah Update: Leia

From your last update on Leia, 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, Leia shares an enclosure with her adopted sisters Sandy, Dusty and Blondi. Leia never really took part in the “Cheetah Runs”, preferring to watch the other 3 from a distance, however about three months ago, out of the blue (and to the delight of CCF staff members), Leia decided to participate in the runs and has now become a regular. 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. While the other cheetahs anticipate a meat treat when they capture the lure, Leia always declines. She seems to run purely for the enjoyment of it.

In December, Leia had an infection in her salivary glands under her tongue. She was salivating very badly. This is re-occurring problem with her. She was anesthetized and than to the vet who had to drain and flush them and placed her on an antibiotic treatment. During her physical all looked to be OK again with her. In addition to her full check up, she also had all the burrs and stickers combed out, and a one of our CCF volunteers, who is also a dentist, Dr. Larry Friedman, cleaned her teeth and confirmed that all her teeth were looking great!