Two baby cheetah cubs were recently found just outside of Naankuse wildlife sanctuary in Namibia, Africa, in the area where rescued cheetahs are normally released. These two cubs ended up back on the main site after a wild male cheetah scaled the electric fence protecting the cheetahs in the sanctuary and mated with a female named Pepper.
Cheetah researchers discovered the babies as a total accident. They knew that if they didn't take them to be fully protected and cared for by sanctuary workers, they were at a huge risk from other predators on the site. With the cheetah population quickly dwindling, they knew that the best thing to do was to ensure that these babies got the best chance at life possible.
In this case, that meant that they needed to be taken away from their mother and watched over until they're old enough to fend for themselves. Without their mother, they never learned to hunt as wild cheetahs do. However, the volunteers at the sanctuary have found different ways to teach a cub how to hunt. Without this skill, these babies will never be able to be released into the wild, so it's crucial that they acquire this ability.
How do they learn how to hunt their prey? Through play time! Handlers also wrap meat inside of cloth, encouraging these babies to tear through flesh to get to the meal. Watching this process is so amazing, but also incredibly cute.
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