Kippy's posts with tag: animal ark
|  | These are some images of big cats from Animal Ark in Reno. Uploaded for Jenn and her 5-year-old son, Evan, who I'm sure will someday figure out a way to run as fast as those cheetahs. :)
Oh yeah, and for anyone else who happens to like big cats, too!
A little background info, Animal Ark is a wildlife refuge that provides homes to primarily predatory animals who can no longer survive on their own in the wild.
Every week they take the cheetahs out to run after their food. Cheetahs in captivity are often found to have many health problems, and it has been discovered that if they get to actually chase after their food, they are much healthier. So, the owners of the Ark put a bag on a pulley and pull it in a varying pattern along the ground at speeds of around 60 mph. The cheetahs, attracted to the sound, chase after it. FAST! I didn't realize how fast until we tried to photograph them. Half the time I couldn't even FIND them in a huge plume of dust. Really something to witness, that's for sure.
Quick tip for Evan and other spotted-cat lovers: To tell a leopard and a cheetah apart, look for the black "tear streak". Cheetahs have a black strip of fur that runs down from the inside of their eyes, along the sides of their face, down to their chin. Leopards don't have it. I try to remember it by likening the word "cheetah" to "cheater" and say: "Cheaters (cheetahs) make me cry." :) |
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