Canjo & Kunjuka

My Dear Princess & Dear Fellows,

I think of myself as a typically sanguine, mellow sort of chap. I do not flap easily. But today I was BESIDE myself.

This was because my Christmas present from Er Indoors was a visit to see Canjo & Kunjuka, the cheetahs at Wellington Zoo, today. I have ALWAYS loved cheetahs. They are my favourite big cat. I think it is because they are so graceful and sleek. And they wear eye-shadow.

Er Indoors was inspired by the Princess, of course, who gifted me a visit to see a giraffe last June. Princess, we couldn't pop in to see him today. The giraffe times and the cheetah times clashed, but - well - more on that later...

So we spent a nice hour at the zoo before being taken into the cheetah enclosure. It was just us and another couple and three keepers. Then Canjo trotted in and ignored us completely. He just wanted to sit in the shade. To be fair to him, it was a very hot day. Fortunately Kunjuka was feeling a bit more sociable and came to sit with us. 

The other OTHER thing I love about cheetahs is that they are the only big cats that purr. And you could hear this guy RUMBLE as he trotted up. The keepers explained that the lads are good mates, because male cheetahs naturally team up in the wild. But that's about as cheetah-rey as these two get. 

"They are really lazy," explained the keeper. "They don't chase food. They won't even look for it. Their sense of smell is terrible. You can literally put food right in front of them and point at it and they miss it."

As if to prove her point, Kunjuka curled up like a housecat and let us rub his tummy. You could FEEL the purr coming out of him. It was like his heart was on spin-cycle inside there.

The more the keeper talked, the more you wonder how cheetahs stay alive in the wild. They are the most efficient hunters of big cats, but they get a lot of food taken away from them by lazy lions. "They're very non-confrontational," she explained. "Even jackals take their food from them."

But the zoo channels 10% of the fee we paid to help protect wild cheetahs, so I felt very good about our visit. And I was feeling pretty good to start with. I just loved being so near such a beautiful big cat. He turned his head to look at me at one point and it was hard not to squeal like a 1950's teen at a Frank Sinatra concert.

But then it was time for the cheetahs to say goodbye. They trotted off, excited. "Don't take it personally," said the keeper. "They always get treats at the end of a session. We had to start doing that or they would just stay here for hours, getting strokes."

That sounds BRILLIANT.

But now they get Marmite or cream cheese. These cheetahs are all about the glamour.

Me and Er Indoors practically FLOATED out of the enclosure. We were both thrilled. As we left we started talking at the same time about all the other animals we wanted to see. "When we come back to see the giraffe, maybe we could fit in the lemurs too..." said Er Indoors. "And the meerkats and the red panda and the lion and and and..."

It was lovely to see her so excited. But it's hard not to get swept up and glamoured by the cheetahs. It's that eye-shadow, you know.

And as a lovely little p.s. to my day, we stopped by the bird rescue unit on our way out. I got the chance to speak to the vet who had treated the baby tui, and ask her how the little guy was doing. It turns out that he had a fractured leg, and was suffering from lead poisoning.

"It's quite common in Wellington tuis," she said. "We're starting a study because no-one really knows why."

The good news is that he has really bounced back and is now very active and very vocal. They're going to take care of him for the next few months and hope to release him next year.

It has been a good day.

S.