Today’s little slice
of “happitude” is...
Being able to interact with beautiful
7month old cheetah
cubs... Such an overwhelming experience!
We decided to visit the Cheetah Outreach Centre
in Paardevlei, Somerset West to learn more about these beautiful animals and
maybe interact with them. When it came down to it I was the only one brave
enough to do a cheetah interaction and I opted to interact with some cubs. Now,
when you think of cheetah cubs you imagine fuzzy little balls of fur that look
like really big kittens, yes? Well... that was most definitely not what I got!
The cheetah cubs I interacted with were already
7 months old and quite large. They had been exercising for most of the morning
and were pretty tuckered out by the time I got there so they were quite docile.
There were a few rangers in the enclosure with me (thank goodness, because I
was rather frightened to be honest) and they gave me pointers on how to
interact with the cubs:
Only stroke them with a flat, open hand from the
back of their heads to the tops of their hind legs
Always be ready to stand up and take a step back
should the cubs decide to turn over whilst you’re stroking them
Avoid touching the cubs’ faces and tails when
stroking them
Be gentle with the cubs and try to be quiet
I ventured into the enclosure and had the
loveliest time with two cubs. One of the rangers took pictures for me while I
kneeled beside the cubs and stroked them. Their fur is quite soft, not what I
expected given the fact that they aren’t average cats. And their tails are
really bushy, also not what I expected. They looked so peaceful but as soon as
my hand grazed over the ribcage I could feel an intense thumping so fast I
couldn’t keep count of how many beats I could feel in a minute... I thought it
was pretty incredible that their hearts were beating so crazy fast despite the
fact that they hadn’t moved in over three hours.
For some reason I felt very emotional after
having interacted with the cubs. It was a very overwhelming experience for me
to be able to touch such a powerful animal in an affectionate way, much like I
would my pups back home. I think it also made me feel a little bit closer to
God in that it’s difficult not to believe in a higher power when you are
standing there with one of the most beautiful animals He created.
I would definitely recommend visiting the
Cheetah Outreach Centre if you ever have the opportunity. There are other
animals to check out at the centre and the guided tours are really interesting.
For more information please visit their website: http://www.cheetah.co.za/
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| Image property of Candice Curtis |
Stay tuned for the last few days of holiday
posts...
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