Last
week, Brevard Zoo staff euthanized its four-and-a-
half
year old
female Cheetah, Basil, due to
her
failing health.
Basil came to Brevard Zoo in
February of 2010 from White Oak Conservation Center in Yulee, Florida.
She was transferred to
Brevard Zoo per an Association of Zoos and Aquariums Species Survival Program (SSP)
recommendation with her sister, Pepper, and an unrelated older female.
The three cheetahs
arrived for the opening of the Zoo’s Expedition Africa cheetah exhibit located next to the
rhinoceros yard.
Zoo keepers noticed a change in Basil’s behavior last week and a follow-up surgical
exam discovered that
the female cheetah was suffering from pancreatitis. After she did not
respond to medication, and exploratory surgery revealed a severely damaged pancreas, the
decision was made to humanely euthanize her.
“It’s always difficult to lose a member of the Brevard Zoo family,
but we did not want her
to suffer unnecessarily,” said Michelle Smurl, Director of
Animal and Conservation Programs.
“She had a great relationship with the
keepers and a good life at the Zoo. We will miss her.”
Following the loss of Basil, zoo keepers are
keeping a watchful eye on her sister,
Pepper,
since they have never been separated. Zoo staff said that Pepper’s behavior is more
subdued,
but she is eating her normal diet. In addition to Pepper, the Zoo also
has Peggy on
exhibit
in Expedition Africa. Peggy and Pepper
are
rotated between the exhibit and the back
yard.
Since 2003 and the opening of
Expedition Africa, the Brevard Zoo has contributed more
than
$14,000 to a variety of in-situ
cheetah conservation projects.
According to the Cheetah Conservation Fund, about 10,000 to 12,500 cheetahs
are estimated to remain in 24 to 26 African countries plus less than 100 animals in Iran. With
about 3,000
animals, Namibia has the world’s largest number of free-ranging cheetah.
Cheetahs have been kept in captivity for over 5,000 years. The captive population suffers from
a lack of genetic diversity, making them more susceptible to disease and decreasing
reproduction.
PHOTO CREDIT: Brevard Zoo
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