Four Northern cheetah cubs, a sub species which is considered endangered, were born in the wildlife park at the end of February to mother Grainne and father Sam
To celebrate the births Fota are running a public contest to name the cubs.
Members of the public can vote to name the cubs by clicking on www.fotawildlife.ie/news and each entrant will be in with a chance to win one of four annual passes to Fota Wildlife Park.
The four cubs were born on the 26th of February to mother Gráinne and father Sam. The cub’s mother Gráinne is six years old and was born in Fota Wildlife Park. The cub’s father Sam was born in the Wadi Al Safa Wildlife Centre, Dubai, UAE and came to Fota in 2017.
Head Ranger, Julien Fonteneau said about the new cheetah cubs
“I am delighted that our four new cheetah cubs are thriving. It is lovely to see them develop and to watch them explore their leafy habitat on Cheetah Hill. The cheetahs enjoy being outside and have just started to join their Mum during feeding where they love to pull and lick the food.
As a conservation charity and a zoological intuition, we value the importance of participating in European Endangered Species breeding programmes (EEP). This year we are celebrating 40 years at Fota Wildlife Park and over 240 cheetahs cubs, through breeding programmes, have been born at the park since it opened in 1983”
The Cheetah is one of the most recognisable species in Fota Wildlife Park and Sean McKeown, Director of Fota Wildlife Park, coordinates the studbook for the breeding of the captive Northern cheetah population in European zoos.
Fota Wildlife Park is open daily and the Northern cheetah cubs can be viewed on Cheetah Hill.
