Sneaky Zookeeper Save Cheetah Cub

On March 5, Monarto Safari Park in Australia welcomed a new baby cheetah. Seven-year-old Quella gave birth to a female cub. The problem was that cheetahs normally give birth to two cubs, and sometimes more. When a single cub is born, the mother is often unable to produce an adequate amount of milk to feed the cub. And that was the situation at the park. So this cub was abandoned by her mother, and had to be hand-fed every two hours.

But there was an ace in the hole. Quella's sister Qailee, also seven years old, was pregnant at the same time. Zookeepers hatched a plan to have Qailee foster the abandoned cub. This scheme had never been tried in an Australian zoo, but the US facility White Oak Conservation had succeeded at getting a cheetah to foster a cub, and they provided advice and encouragement. The cub waited a week for Qailee to give birth to two cubs, then the staff snuck the third cub into her den. And it worked! (via Zooborns)