Posts tagged "cheetah"

Bow Wow Boots; Camel vs. Croc

by Evan Jacobs (Subscribe to Evan Jacobs's posts): Feb 12th 2010 6:00PM Filed Under: Chew on This

Rounding up our favorite animal stories, photos, and videos on the Web each week!

Camel vs. Crocodile

The battle for ultimate domination of the animal kingdom has begun in Australia. Who will win? Crocodiles or feral camels? [via Timesonline.co.uk]
Do I Have To Wear Them?

The New York Times tests and rates boots for dogs to help you better humiliate them. [via New York Times]
We Wuv Our Cwitters

Who took a Reuter's poll determining pet owners prefer V-day with their pets? You did! [via New York Post]
Diabetes Defying Doggy

When an elderly man went into hypoglycemic shock, his dog saved his life. His cat watched, yawned, then fell asleep. [via People Pets]
Cheetah Prison Break

Three cheetahs briefly escaped their enclosures when they swam across the barrier moat. Strangely enough, they doggy-paddled. [via Chron.com]

Fastest Man Adopts Fastest Cat

by Kirsten Taylor (Subscribe to Kirsten Taylor's posts): Nov 12th 2009 3:00PM Filed Under: Exotic Pets, Pets News

Roberto Schmidt, AFP / Getty Images

Fast and faster: Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt, who holds world records for the 100-meter and the 200-meter, is frequently described as the fastest man on Earth. The cheetah, which can sprint 70 miles per hour, is hands-down the fastest land animal on the planet. So it was a match made in speed-demon heaven when the aptly-named Bolt adopted a cheetah cub, Yahoo News reported.

Unlike Bai Ling, however, Bolt won't be welcoming the speedy feline into his home. The star athlete is sponsoring the 3-month-old cheetah, named Lightning Bolt, in an effort to support wildlife conservation in Kenya, according to Yahoo News.

Lightning Bolt and his two cheetah siblings were abandoned by their mother in a Kenyan game park, and are now being cared for by an animal orphanage in Nairobi, the nation's capital. Bolt paid the Kenya Wildlife Service $13,700 to adopt the cub, and he's agreed to pay $3,000 a year for the feline's care, reports Yahoo News. The money will also be used to protect Kenya's charismatic endangered species.

As a three-time Olympic gold medalist, Bolt has given his fans plenty of reasons to cheer. As far as we're concerned, his adoption of Lightning Bolt is worthy of one great big standing ovation.

Freaky Ferrets; Bionic Bowser

by Evan Jacobs (Subscribe to Evan Jacobs's posts): Nov 6th 2009 6:00PM Filed Under: Chew on This

Rounding up our favorite animal stories, photos, and videos on the web each week!

Schnauzer Sing-along

See some super-sweet singing-Schnauzer shorts. Okay, so they're howling. You know what we meant. [via Urlesque]
Dog Fetches Prosthetics

Here's the fascinating true story of a dog who had to make a tough sacrifice and was later rewarded with a pair of nifty new legs. [via People Pets]
Bolt Outruns Cheetah

Usain Bolt actually just adopted this cheetah cub. It will be raised at a refuge in Nairobi until it is old enough to lose a footrace to Bolt. [via Yahoo News]
Ferrets Mesmerize You

Video too cute... Can't look away... Ferrets inside head... Must adopt ferrets... Help them enslave humanity... [via BuzzFeed]
Cow, Please Stop

This cow is a little too thirsty. Who knew that farm animals were this bizarre? Someone set up this cow with a shrink. [via BuzzFeed]

Bai Ling's Cheetah-Cat Probably Isn't

by Kirsten Taylor (Subscribe to Kirsten Taylor's posts): Nov 5th 2009 3:00PM Filed Under: Exotic Pets, Celebrity Pets

Michael Bezjian, WireImage

We recently told you about actress Bai Ling's pet cat Quiji, which she claims is half cheetah and half domestic cat. While the speckled cat certainly looks exotic, we were skeptical. Could Quiji really be half cheetah?

To find out more, we contacted Carlos Driscoll, a scientist who researches cat genetics at the National Cancer Institute's Laboratory of Genomic Diversity. It turns out we had good reason to be suspicious. "Her cat is most assuredly not hybridized with a cheetah," Driscoll told Paw Nation.

For one thing, the huge size difference between the house cat and the cheetah would make it impossible for them to mate, he says. Beyond that, "A cheetah is too far, genetically, from a domestic cat to produce viable offspring," Driscoll said.

"House cats and exotic cats can, on some occasions, breed, but not any [exotic cat] species, and certainly not a cheetah," Driscoll told us. Based on Quiji's appearance, he guesses that she might be a Savannah cat, a mix between the domestic cat and a wild feline called a serval.

But even Savannahs aren't as exotic as they sound, Driscoll adds. "Such cats sold to the public are, by law, at least five generations away from the serval. As a result, there is an almost undetectable serval genetic component to them," he told Paw Nation.

Bai Ling claims her ex-boyfriend paid $30,000 for the exotic cat. If so, we hope he's not reading this. That's a lot of dough to drop on a fake cheetah -- especially for an ex-girlfriend.

Bai Ling Loves Her Cheetah-Cat

by Kristen Seymour (Subscribe to Kristen Seymour's posts): Oct 29th 2009 2:00PM Filed Under: Exotic Pets, Celebrity Pets

Michael Bezjian, WireImage

Nobody's going to argue that Bai Ling is a little... eccentric. From the clothes she wears to the interviews she gives, she's a truly unique individual, so it's not all that surprising that she has a very unique cat.

Her cat, Quiji (the Chinese word for magic) is half domestic cat, half cheetah, according to PeoplePets.com, who spoke to Ling about her fancy feline. The cat, which was a gift from an ex-boyfriend, cost around $30,000.

Ling has always been an animal lover, and tells PeoplePets.com, "In my previous life, I was a cheetah or leopard or some sort of really wild and dangerous animal in nature." She's quick to point out that Quiji isn't dangerous, though: "The thing is, Quiji is really the most affectionate, even compared to human beings."

Funny Animal Video: Cheetah Cub Debuts in Cincinnati

by Paul Ciampanelli (Subscribe to Paul Ciampanelli's posts): Aug 21st 2009 1:00PM Filed Under: Cats, Exotic Pets, Funny Animal Videos

Nia Faye greets the world. Photo: Cincinnati Zoo

Meet Nia Faye, a seven-week-old cheetah cub at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden. She may be adorable, but she's had a bit of a rough start to her short life.

After her birth on July 2 at the zoo's cheetah-breeding facility, Nia Faye's mother, Purdy, failed to "provide adequate care," which in nature sometimes means that a mother simply ignores her cub. To help Nia, the zoo moved the newborn to their nursery, where she spent the next several weeks feeding from a bottle and learning to socialize with the help of a house-cat companion named Mashka.

This week, Nia Faye is making her zoo debut. Though she will remain at the nursery for the time being, she is now on exhibit. Once she's ready to leave the nursery, Nia Faye will become part of the zoo's Cat Ambassador Program, helping zoo visitors learn about cheetahs and cheetah conservation. She won't be alone; four of the eight cheetahs born on the continent over the past two years were born at the Cincinnati Zoo, bringing the zoo's all-time total to 37 cheetah cubs. Must be something in the water.

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Zoo News Gallery

Dachshund Nurses Tiger Cub
More interspecies pallin' around at Germany's Stroehen Zoo, where a female dachshund stepped up to play mommy to an "orphaned" tiger cub in May 2009. The hapless cub, after being rejected by its true mother after his birth, was soon adopted by a male dachshund named Monster. But within only a few days, Monster was killed after being run over by a mail truck. Luckily, Monster's daughter Bessi took a liking to the poor tiger, and stepped into her father's shoes as the cub's caretaker.

Fabian Bimmer, AP

Zoo News Gallery

Fabian Bimmer, AP

Chacoan Peccaries Born in Los Angeles Zoo
It's been a baby-animal explosion at the L.A. Zoo this year. First the pronghorns in March, a giraffe in April, and then a litter of three Chacoan peccaries in May 2009. Chacoan peccaries are South American ungulates distantly related to wild boar. They are so rare, they were once thought extinct until a few were discovered in 1972. This litter, combined with two separate litters born at the L.A. Zoo last September, make a total of 10 new peccaries born at the zoo in the last year. Good news for this endangered species!

Nick Ut, AP

Elephant Born in Hamburg Zoo
This has been the summer of the zoo elephant, with elephants being born, tragically dying, and just moving hither and thither. The Hamburg Zoo's elephant Tura gave birth on July 3, 2009 to a baby girl named Rani. Rani is the latest addition to a family of 12 elephants at the zoo.

Martin Rose, Getty Images

German Zoos Settle Dispute Over Polar-Bear Cub
A years-long baby drama among German zoos finally was settled July 2009. The polar-bear cub Knut was born in the Berlin Zoo three years ago to a mother who was on loan from the Neumuenster Zoo. When Knut became wildly popular in Berlin, drawing in significant euros, Neumuenster began demanding royalties. The two zoos had feuded bitterly over Knut since then. But last month Berlin finally agreed to pay Neumuenster the equivalent of US $600,000, while retaining possession of the popular polar bear, delighting his many Berliner fans.

John MacDougall, AFP / Getty Images

Elephant Born in Australia Zoo
Australia also celebrated a new elephant calf born the summer of July 2009. This one was born in Sydney's Tonga Zoo. At a special ceremony, the baby was given the name Luk Chai, chosen from 32,000 name suggestions from the public. The name means "male child" and was chosen to recognize the animal's Asian roots.

Bobbie-Jo Vial, AP

Sloth Born in Philadelphia Zoo
Heartwarming news for the lazy: a baby two-toed sloth -- the power animal for shiftless layabouts everywhere -- was born at the Philadelphia Zoo in July 2009. What's remarkable about this birth is that no one saw it coming; zookeepers didn't know the mother was even pregnant. The parents are elderly for sloths, and were thought to be beyond the possibility of reproduction. They're believed to be the oldest sloths ever to give birth in captivity.

Matt Rourke, AP

Elephant Born and Dies Memphis Zoo
Early July 2009, the Memphis Zoo in Tennessee announced the birth of an African elephant at their facility. The interest and excitement for the new baby animal was tragically cut short only two days after the birth. The calf stumbled and fell to the ground, and while attempting to pick her baby back up, its mother accidentally gored it to death with her tusks, shocking the zoo staffers after their time of celebration suddenly transformed into one of mourning.

Drew Smith, Memphis Zoo

Panda Cub Debuts at Thailand Zoo
A giant-panda cub was born in Thailand in May 2009, sparking a nationwide panda-monium of excitement leading up to the cub's debut at the Chiang Mai Zoo last month. Like Philly's two-toed-sloth baby, the panda cub came as a surprise to zookeepers who were unaware of the mother's pregnancy. Ironic, considering the zoo has spent literally years trying to get the parents to mate with stunts like a staged wedding between the pair, and showing panda "porn" to father Chuang Chuang, who'd been much more interested in feasting on bamboo than in getting his swerve on.

Wichai Taprieu, AP

Peninsular Pronghorn Twins Born in Los Angeles Zoo
Two peninsular pronghorn fawns were born at the Los Angeles Zoo in March 2009, the first of the critically endangered, desert-dwelling species to be born at the facility. Pronghorns are among the fastest land animals, able to attain speeds that rival the cheetah. Newborns can walk within an hour of birth, and can outpace humans within a week. The twin males were born as part of the L.A. Zoo's participation in the Peninsular Pronghorn Recovery Project, dedicated to saving these elegant animals from extinction.

David McNew, Getty Images

Philadelphia Says Goodbye to Elephant, Pittsburgh Says Hello
Kallie and Bette, two elephants that made for one of the most popular attractions at the Philadelphia Zoo, moved house in July 2009, travelling to Pennsylvania's other major city, Pittsburgh, to take up residence at the Pittsburgh Zoo's International Conservation Center. Philadelphia's zoo keepers and zoogoers were saddened to see the pair leave, but were happy that the elephants at least were going to a good facility in Somerset County. We're sure Pittsburgh's animal lovers will enjoy Kalle and Bette as much as their fans in Philly did.

Sharon Gekoski-Kimmel, Philadelphia Inquirer / MCT

Woman Shares Home With Lions, Tigers and Cheetahs - Oh My!

by Kristen Seymour (Subscribe to Kristen Seymour's posts): Jul 2nd 2009 12:00PM Filed Under: Exotic Pets

Photo: BARM / Fame Pictures

How many times have you watched wildlife documentary footage of sleeping lions and dreamt of snuggling up with one of them? Of course, all it takes is a scene of the same big cats ripping apart a water buffalo and that desire tends to disappear. But it sure hasn't deterred one woman in South Africa, who disregards any concerns about living amongst the ferocious felines and lets 11 big cats live in her home.

Riana Van Nieuwenhuizen shares her living space with four orphaned cheetahs, five lions and two tigers. And when we say share, we mean share: They climb in bed with her, prowl on her countertops, steal table scraps, and do many of the other things a typical house cat would do. In fact, they even play with her (small) dogs, and curl up with the pooches when it's time to snooze.

Van Nieuwenhuizen didn't just start bringing big cats into her home for fun -- she's working to prevent the extinction of these animals through Fiela's Fund Cheetah Breeding Project after being involved in "Friends of the Zoo" for over a decade. Van Nieuwenhuizen's first tame cheetah Fiela (born in January 2006) acts as a sort of animal ambassador to educate people about the endangered animals.

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Camouflage Animals

Madagascar Day Gecko
The green Madagascar Day Gecko lives in the dry regions of forests in Madagascar and neighboring islands. They usually grow to be between four to six inches long. Their tail makes up almost half of their length.

Getty Images

Camouflage Animals

Argentine Horned Frog Reptiles
The Argentine Horned Frog, also known as the Horned Frog or Pacman Frog, originated in South America. The green and black amphibian, which can grow up to six inches long, is a popular pets and can live for as long as 10 years.

Camouflage Animals

Walkingstick
The Walkingstick takes its camouflage abilities to the next level by creating the appearance of a stick or twig to hide from predators. While they normally stand still, these insects are able to walk around as though they were a twig caught in the wind. They can be found in tropical forests or woodlands all across the world.

Camouflage Animals

Dwarf Puff Adder
Found in Nambia, the venomous Dwarf Puff Adder hides from the hot desert sun by burying itself in the sand, where only its eyes show.

Camouflage Animals

Stonefish
Often resembling a rock, the brown colored Stonefish camouflages itself perfectly in the ocean. With 13 venomous dorsal spines on its back, the Stonefish can cause tissue damage and respiratory distress, which can lead to cardiovascular shock if left untreated.

Camouflage Animals

Chameleons
Chameleons, the quintessential color-changers, can transform their skin color when their mood, temperature or the amount of light around them is altered. Their hue, which can vary from yellow and pink to brown and black, is also altered when they communicate.

Camouflage Animals

Green Anole
Often confused with chameleons, Green Anoles turn brown when they're stressed or sick. Found in the trees and shrubs of the Southeastern United States, these lizards are popular pets.

Camouflage Animals

The Eastern Wood Frog
The Eastern Wood Frog tricks competitors by changing colors to match its surroundings. Found in North American woodlands, the frog also has a dark black patch from its eye to the base of its front limb that can change colors.

Camouflage Animals