Kelly, one of the field biologists, brought in a cheetah last week that apparently broke it’s jaw when it ran into a fence, a death sentence in the wild. But here at DeWildt where every cheetah is not only a prized individual but a genetic treasure, every effort will be made to save it. Peter, the vet, performed a successful surgery and wired its jaw shut. We now have one very unhappy and angry cheetah to look after.
Some people from the Vulture Study Group came this afternoon to capture some new birds and examine others. Connie and I went along to take some photos for the website. In addition to cheetahs, DeWildt is involved with African hunting dogs, African wild cats, caracols, vultures and nearly anything else that comes along. It was like being in an episode of an nature show. Netting the vultures, even in the enclosure is an adventure but Scott, from Disney's Animal Kingdom actually plucked a lappet-faced vulture out of the air so they could get blood samples and implant an identification chip. Blood samples are the only certain way of determining the gender of the birds. They will return to get some more to ship to Florida and two will go to Cheyenne Mountain Zoo back in Colorado.
