“And dogs, which have been domesticated for thousands of years, are more confident and relaxed in most situations. If a cheetah sees his or her dog being calm, the cheetah can feel comfortable reacting the same way.” In the early stages, the most important part of the cheetah/ dog pairing is the bonding. “We watch them carefully to make sure they’re ‘clicking,’” says Denise Carson, a senior keeper at the Park’s Animal Care Center, where Ruuxa and Raina first lived together. “We see how their personalities develop and how they play together. Then we start training after that.”
Opposite page: As a singleton cub, Ruuxa was being handraised, but he soon had a playmate and buddy, a Rhodesian ridgeback puppy named Raina. Above, clockwise: No wonder Ruuxa took to Raina—who could resist that face? Because they were both young, Ruuxa and Raina’s play visits were supervised at first. Ruuxa has been growing by leaps and bounds on his cheetah cub formula and lots of TLC.
While animal ambassador training can look like it’s all fun and games, Shannon notes that the methods are geared to encourage and nurture natural behaviors. The whole process has an important purpose: animal ambassadors at the Park and the Zoo are goodwill representatives for their wild brethren. “We want people to care about animals and their habitats,” she says. “And it’s so much more relatable when there is this beautiful animal in front of you to tell the story.” Ruuxa and Raina will eventually take part in animal presentations at the Park, as well as make public appearances at special events and on TV. Connecting people with wildlife may seem like a big job for a little cat, but Ruuxa gets more than a little help from his friends when it comes to shouldering the responsibility. Raina, the ravishing Rhodesian ridgeback, always has his back! Even the pair’s names are strong indicators of their bond: Ruuxa means spirit, and the charismatic cub has plenty. And the meaning of Raina’s moniker? Guardian. And she’s already on duty! Want to see video of Ruuxa and Raina playing? Of course you do! Download the digital version of ZOONOOZ and enjoy!
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