Dogs and Cats Living Together
May 9, 2013 10:54 AM   Subscribe

"No one is sure when the idea of cheetah dogs started, but Anatolian shepherds helped advance it. The San Diego Zoo was given a pair of cheetahs in 1981 on the condition they be given dogs because they were used to them."

Providing cheetahs with a canine companion is standard practice at the San Diego Zoo and has been adopted by other organizations that house and care for cheetahs. The San Diego Zoo hasn't limited this practice to cheetahs, either.

Youtube is chock full of cheetah/dog love.
posted by ursus_comiter (24 comments total) 32 users marked this as a favorite
 
INTERSPECIES SNORGLING
posted by elizardbits at 10:57 AM on May 9, 2013 [7 favorites]


Is there anything dogs can't do?!

Humans don't deserve dogs.
posted by triggerfinger at 10:59 AM on May 9, 2013 [11 favorites]


This is just like a little zoological FYI but I though everyone in this thread would benefit from the knowledge that cheetahs are fucking awesome.
posted by shakespeherian at 11:02 AM on May 9, 2013 [8 favorites]


Mass Hysteria!
posted by Fizz at 11:03 AM on May 9, 2013 [3 favorites]


Animal wingmen.
posted by GuyZero at 11:03 AM on May 9, 2013 [1 favorite]


Wow this is so cool! I have an Anatolian Shepherd / Great Pyrenees mix and she is just the best dog. Super friendly and smart.
posted by meta87 at 11:07 AM on May 9, 2013


Cheetahs are awesome! Our zoo takes ours to the local racetrack so they can get proper running exercise. It is absolutely something to see. Their dogs go with them!
posted by Houstonian at 11:08 AM on May 9, 2013 [7 favorites]


Dogs Help Cheetahs Overcome Breeding Fears In New Zoo Project

Dogs and cats living together: OK
Dogs as sex therapists: Not so much
posted by DU at 11:08 AM on May 9, 2013


INTERSPECIES SNORGLING

Oh sure, it's cute when they do it.
posted by zombieflanders at 11:12 AM on May 9, 2013 [6 favorites]


So much nicer then those jerk baboons
posted by The Whelk at 11:19 AM on May 9, 2013 [3 favorites]


Lion: HEY ELEPHANT! WHY'S THERE NO GAMBLING IN AFRICA?

Elephant: TOO MANY CHEETAHS!
posted by Mooski at 11:19 AM on May 9, 2013 [1 favorite]


A cheetah's claws don't retract, so they have footing that takes them from "zero to 60 in 3.4 seconds," she said. "That's faster than every single car on the market, and it only takes three steps," Rose-Hinostroza said.

Impressive and awesome but not even remotely true.
posted by nathancaswell at 11:26 AM on May 9, 2013 [2 favorites]


stop ruining cheetahs, you cheetah ruiner.
posted by elizardbits at 11:30 AM on May 9, 2013 [8 favorites]


Oh hell yeah! I was at the San Diego Zoo a while back and I saw a dog in with the cheetah and I wasn't leaving there until I made sure he wasn't food. Then I read the sign explaining the dog and I got all warm and fuzzy about humans and dogs and animals and then I found the giant tortoises that you can basically ride on like you were Jesus riding a Stegosaurus and that's when I decided the San Diego Zoo was pretty much the greatest place on Earth.
posted by bondcliff at 11:34 AM on May 9, 2013 [14 favorites]


brb checking for paid cheetah snorgling/dog scritching/tortoise riding internship at the San Diego Zoo
posted by zombieflanders at 11:36 AM on May 9, 2013 [2 favorites]


More interesting facts about cheetahs:

The word "cheetah" is derived from the Sanskrit word citrakāyaḥ, meaning "variegated", via the Hindi 'चीता' (cītā)

They are the only large cat that can purr as it inhales, but it can not roar.

Dogs as companion animals make sense. Other high strung animals, such as thoroughbred race horses are much calmer with companion animals such as goats. However, considering the goat would become dinner for the cheetah, not a good choice.

Namoja, Munster Zoo's female Cheetah, has her paws full with five cubs scroll down for some heart warming video of mama cheetah with her babies.
posted by JujuB at 11:42 AM on May 9, 2013 [2 favorites]




I think my big boy would make an awesome cheetah dog. Although, he has stripes and the kids in the neighborhood call him tiger dog.
posted by shoesietart at 12:23 PM on May 9, 2013 [2 favorites]


At the same internship where I was watching fox sex, I helped pilot a study that would look at hormones in cheetah urine. I had a schematic of the cheetah enclosure and basically hung out and marked down on the schematic every location a cheetah peed. They wanted to see where might be most productive places to put vials to collect urine. The best part was when there were CHEETAH BABIES!
posted by ChuraChura at 12:33 PM on May 9, 2013 [4 favorites]


The best part was when there were CHEETAH BABIES!

"Bella, Jacob, and Edward"

ಠ_ಠ

"and Moya"

:D
posted by zombieflanders at 12:40 PM on May 9, 2013


(those were not my cheetah babies, just illustrative ones. I would have lobbied for better names.)
posted by ChuraChura at 1:01 PM on May 9, 2013 [2 favorites]


I've heard cheetahs described as dog-like cats, but this takes it to an entirely different level. Historically, some people have trained tame cheetahs to use in hunts: People Hunting with Cheetahs, India 1939.
posted by quiet earth at 3:02 PM on May 9, 2013


Neat stuff! I was driving through the countryside last year and stopped at a house advertising spinning lawn ornaments. The owner also bred Anatolian shepherds. She invited me in to see them, and I stepped over a baby gate, and was immediately enveloped in puppies. You have not lived until you have been in a room of squiggling chubby friendly Antatolian shepherd puppies, while holding one at the same time. Total bliss. I envy those cheetahs.
posted by Marie Mon Dieu at 3:49 PM on May 9, 2013


For more interspecies snorgling: Unlikely Animal Friends!


Thanks for the link.

The cat and crow was great. I was doing fine but lost it with the elephant and dog one.
posted by Jalliah at 3:58 PM on May 9, 2013


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