Announcing public contest to name four new cheetah cubs

Fota Wildlife Park launches public contest to name four new cheetah cubs

Fota Wildlife Park today announced the birth of four Northern cheetah cubs, a sub species which is considered endangered by the International Union of Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as there are less than 700 Northern cheetahs left in the wild.

To celebrate the birth of the Northern cheetah Cubs, Fota Wildlife Park are running a public contest to name the cubs.  Members of the public can suggest a name for one of the cubs via the online form below, and each entrant will be in with a chance to win one of four Conservation annual passes to Fota Wildlife Park.

The four cubs were born on the 26^th of February to mother Gráinne and father Sam.  The cub’s mother Gráinne is six years old and was born in Fota Wildlife Park. The cub’s father Sam was born in the Wadi Al Safa Wildlife Centre, Dubai, UAE and came to Fota in 2017.

Head Ranger, Julien Fonteneau said about the new cheetah cubs

“I am delighted that our four new cheetah cubs are thriving.  It is lovely to see them develop and to watch them explore their leafy habitat on Cheetah Hill. The cheetahs enjoy being outside and have just started to join their Mum during feeding where they love to pull and lick the food.

As a conservation charity and a zoological intuition, we value the importance of participating in European Endangered Species breeding programmes (EEP). This year we are celebrating 40 years at Fota Wildlife Park and over 240 cheetahs cubs, through breeding programmes, have been born at the park since it opened in 1983”

The Cheetah is one of the most recognisable species in Fota Wildlife Park and Sean McKeown, Director of Fota Wildlife Park, coordinates the studbook for the breeding of the captive Northern cheetah population in European zoos.

Fota Wildlife Park is open daily and the Northern cheetah cubs can be viewed on Cheetah Hill.

On Sunday April 30^th and Monday May 1^st the Blue Imagination Playground, a breakthrough play space concept designed to encourage child-directed free play is returning to Fota Wildlife Park, no booking necessary, free with entry from 12 noon to 4pm on those dates. The Blue Imagination Playground is made up of squares, channel chutes and connectors and is suitable for children aged 2 to 12 years of age (guardian supervision required at all times).

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Image credits: Darragh Kane