Expand / Collapse search
☰

Smithsonian staff hand raising abandoned cheetah cub

By FOX 5 Digital Team
Published  September 21, 2021 1:37pm EDT
Washington, D.C.
FOX 5 DC

Smithsonian staff raising cheetah cub

The staff at the Smithsonian are hand raising an abandoned cheetah cub in anticipation of moving him to a foster cheetah mother at another zoo.

WASHINGTON - The staff at the Smithsonian are hand raising a male cheetah cub after he was abandoned. 

READ MORE: Okefenokee Joe, an alligator believed to be as old as WWII, passes away

According to officials at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, they intervened after two other cubs in the litter birthed by 7-year-old Sukiri died on Sept. 16.

READ MORE: Last chance to catch Maryland monarchs before migration

Sukiri nursed the cub overnight before she started ignoring him.

According to experts, single cubs are often abandoned.

Download the FOX 5 DC News App for Local Breaking News and Weather

They say the cub – who has not been named – will be given to a foster cheetah mother at another zoo after he’s been cared for over the course of several weeks.