Contacting an expert

Today for Talent Development we had to contact an expert, because I'm doing mine on big cats I chose to contact Orana Park Wildlife Center.  I had to write an email to them with questions about my animal adaptation. Straight after I had sent the email I got a reply that had  answers to all of my questions.  It said this...


Hi Hannah

Thank you for your email.

1. When you keep a cheetah somewhere in a cage how does it cope, because a cheetah likes to run around?

Our cheetah are provided with a large area to exercise but cheetah are like most cats and actually sleep for most of the day!

2. How does a cheetah keep its claws short?

Cheetah can only partially retract their claws so, like a dogs, they are constantly being worn down as they walk and run.

3.How often do you run a breeding programme for your lions?

We have just completed a breeding round for our Lions. As they are not bred for release we only breed to maintain their numbers so typically every 5 years or so.

4.Because most big cats are used to hunting for themselves how do they like to be fed meat by you instead of killing their own prey? What if any are the effects of this on the lions?

Because the lion exercise a bit less through not having to chase their prey we do feed them a little less than they might eat in the wild…but then they can also guarantee a frequent regular feed which doesn’t occur in the wild. They are not wild-bred so have never been taught how to hunt and would be very poor at it.

5. How often do lions need to eat ? Is it different in the wild to the park?

We feed lions every second day – in the wild they may only eat every 5-7 days!

6.What are the major impacts of daily human contact with the big cats? Do they ever become tame?

Our big cats never come into contact with their keepers so they do remain wild. They are less scared of people than wild lions but definitely NOT tame

Thanks