LibGuides: Cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) Fact Sheet: Managed Care

History of Managed Care

Early records

Some images of cheetahs in managed care are very old
- Sumerian seal shows leashed cheetah (c. 3000 BCE)
- Found at a burial site dated from 700-300 BCE contains cheetah images in Caucasus
- Dated from 309-246 BCE (Ptolomy II, in Egypt)
Cheetahs used as coursers (hunting assistants) throughout Asia, Northern Africa and Europe
- Mongol emperors between 13th-16th centuries kept hundreds of trained cheetahs
  - Kublai Khan had an extensive stable of hunting cheetahs
- Demand for hunting cheetahs created continual drain on the wild population
  - Hand-raised cubs could not be trained to hunt, so young adult males captured from the wild were used
- Records of hunting with cheetahs exist from Scythians, Assyrians, ancient Egyptians, and Indians
- In Italy, cheetahs were used as hunters from 5th century to early Renaissance
- George III of England had a hunting cheetah

Early note on birth in managed care

A single record prior to the 20th century
- Occured in the palace of a 15th century Mongol emperor

Europe

Zoological Society of London
- 1829; housed a young cheetah though the animal survived less than a year

North America

First individual in a U.S. Zoo
- 1871, Central Park Zoo
- 1939, 5 cheetahs presented to the Zoological Society of San Diego
  - A gift from Osa Johnson
- 1956, first birth in managed care, Philadelphia Zoo
  - Litter did not survive
- 1970, San Diego Zoological Society, litter of three cubs born (11/22/70)
  - Male cub, Juba, becomes first zoo-born cheetah cub to survive infancy
- 1975, importation of wild-caught cheetahs dramatically reduced due to CITES legislation

North America

Live Cheetah cam at the Indianapolis Zoo

Walks are an important form of enrichment for cheetahs at the San Diego Zoo.

Caro (1994)
Crosier et al. (2015)
Grisham (1997)
Kingdon(1977)
Marker-Kraus(1997)