Unlikely Friends: Cheetahs and Labrador Retrievers

Labrador Retrievers are helping to spread the word about the plight of the world’s fastest land mammal, the cheetah. Living in Africa and Iran, the cheetah can sprint up to 65 to 70 MPH. Their total adult and adolescent populations in the wild are estimated at 1,700. Some countries consider them an endangered or vulnerable species according to Cheetah Conservation Fund.

Experts list several factors contributing to the cheetahs’ population status. Cheetahs’ reproduction numbers are low. Although these cats have litters of three to five cubs, others whelp only one. Mothers in the wild abandon their single clubs, says Shawn Brehob, Animal Director at the Columbus (OH) Zoo and Aquarium. Ranchers kill cheetahs to protect their livestock, and poachers capture and sell them as pets in some African countries, he says. Other poachers hunt these magnificent cats for their fur.

Full-grown cheetahs weigh between 80 and 140 pounds and stand about 30 inches at the withers. Their predators are lions, hyenas, and even vultures. See:https://www.columbuszoo.org/guide/animal.html?id=59d2b532-bd2f-67d7-bdc2-ff0000bf4b43

How do Labradors help cheetahs? First, as puppies, they may be paired with a cheetah cub in a zoo setting to give confidence to this very shy species of cat. Second, as the pair — puppy and cub — grow up together, their heart-warming story is shared with the public as an educational opportunity to learn more about cheetahs and how humans can help protect them.

Over the years, cheetah-Labrador pairs have been important zoo ambassadors in educating the public about the world’s fastest cat and creating lifelong memories for zoo guests, Brehob says.

“Often, the public is just as excited—if not more so—to see the dogs, who are with their cheetah,” he notes.

Guests may notice that the cheetah ambassador will look to his/her paired Labrador to get assurance that the particular situation is okay, he says. The dogs give the cats much-needed confidence. “We never do anything the animals don’t want to do.” Of course, the Labradors also love interacting with people! Brehob adds.

Columbus Zoo Cub-Puppy Program

The Columbus Zoo is one of the few zoos nationwide that have raised cheetah cubs and puppies together and is so well-known for these efforts that other zoos have asked if the Columbus Zoo can handle another orphan cub, Brehob says. Eleven of his 19-person staff have experience raising cubs with puppies. The Columbus Zoo currently has 12 cheetahs. Labradors have played a part in raising 19 cheetahs, Brehob says.

The cub-puppy program is the brainstorm of Suzi Rapp, now retired, but formerly Vice President of Animal Programs at the Columbus Zoo. More than a decade ago, the zoo acquired two Anatolian Shepherd puppies and paired them with two young cheetah cubs.

The cheetahs and shepherds did well together but an unforeseen problem arose, Brehob recalls. The shepherds became possessive and protective of their cats, which made it challenging for humans to interact and care for them.

Labradors Chosen as Cub Raisers

Rapp huddled with her team. They needed puppies with a foolproof temperament to raise cheetah cubs and to comfortably mingle with the public. That’s when Labradors Retrievers came to mind.

She reached out to Sally Bell, who calls herself the “Labrador Retriever woman of the Columbus OH area.” Bell’s bred and shown her Borador Labradors for the past fifty-three years. The two women met.

Bell recalls that she immediately liked Rapp and recognized she was a “common-sense dog person; a good dog person.” Rapp was very specific that she wanted a nine-week-old old yellow male pup. Bell didn’t have any puppies meeting that criterion so she referred her to another Labrador breeder. Labrador Carlisle came to the zoo in 2010, Brehob says.

Over the next several years, Carlisle successfully raised and bonded with four cubs, Jake, Eddie, Bella, and Moyo.

In 2013, Rapp again asked Bell about selling a pup for the cheetah cub-puppy program. At the time, Bell had a litter that she co-owned with Chris Kofron, DVM of Valleywood Labradors, that met Rapp’s criteria. She suggested one pup to her but Rapp chose another pup.

“She knew intuitively which pup would work,” Bell recalls. The pup was named Coby. He partnered, one at a time, with cubs Bibi and Zemba. Colby became the beloved zoo ambassador dog appearing with his cheetahs at zoo-sponsored functions at the time.

He not only helped raise and socialize cheetah cubs but also warthogs, foxes, and otters, Brehob recalls. Coby’s recent passing from health issues was met with deep sadness and a show of support from the public who offered their kind condolences and fond memories of Coby. More than 11,000 responses, 667 comments, and nearly 1,000 shares of a post announcing his passing appeared on the zoo’s Facebook page.

In 2014, Rapp chose another young pup from one of  Bell’s litters. Bell recalls that Rapp observed several pups at Bell’s property before picking Cash who was paired with Misi.

Cub Choses Pup

Two years later, cheetah cub Emmett visited Bell and five of her yellow male nine-week-old puppies. Rapp, a couple of zoo staff members, and Bell watched the puppies interact with Emmett, who was just a little older than the puppies.

Bell recalls that two of the pups immediately avoided the cheetah and didn’t want anything to do with him. Three pups were more curious. After the cub batted and rolled around with these puppies, only one wanted to play more- Cullen. Emmett had chosen his playmate.

Back at the zoo, just as he had with Cash, Coby mentored Cullen and spent hours playing and dozing with both Labradors.

Brehob says that if an orphan cheetah cub arrived at the zoo and still needed to be bottle-fed, a Labrador puppy would come for a short visit to watch the feeding so that the cub could become acclimated to the canine. As the cheetah cub began to accept the pup, the two start to play with one another. The zoo usually paired the cheetah cubs with a puppy at about eight or ten weeks. The pups were usually nine weeks old when they came to live at the zoo during the day and in a staff member’s home at night.

They play as if both were dogs- chasing and rolling one another, and snuggling and napping when they tire out, Brehob explains. But they are always supervised by humans. The staff’s goal is to desensitize the cub and puppy from each other so they “really don’t know that they are different from one another.”

Zoo staff considers the Labradors as their co-workers. The latter exudes confidence in the cheetahs and makes it easier for humans to interact with the cats, Brehob says.

What does the zoo staff look for when choosing a Labrador puppy? Brehob says they seek a calm, confident, and people-friendly pup. As the pair grow up together, the cheetah cub gains confidence and looks to the Labrador in strange situations to see if a behavior is okay and then follows the Lab’s lead.

As the cat and dog age, they interact less often, he adds but believes that if they see each other regularly, both the cat and dog can remain friends throughout their lifetimes. He notes that sometimes a cheetah will let the dog know that he doesn’t really care to be around him anymore, so the workers separate them.

Bell says she loves showing and judging Labradors and King Charles Caviler Spaniels. She’s been an American Kennel Club judge of both breeds since 1998. But she’s also fascinated with Labradors’ ability to work with their cheetahs, adding “what a revelation it is to learn how much Labradors are capable of thanks to “their pliability and good-natured temperament.”

The Columbus Zoo has recommended her Labs to other zoos, she adds. Two pups- one black and one yellow- went to the Bronx, NY zoo, and a yellow male named Bowie to the Turtleback Zoo in West Orange, NJ.

A former Keeshond and Bassett hound owner, Brehob says Bell’s dogs are “thick dogs” that can stand up to tough cheetah play but are also calm, confident, friendly, and love people. And they want to be with their cat.

He notes that some zoos don’t always use Labradors with cheetahs and the program is always something that evolves because the animals are all individuals with different personalities and needs. “We have had such success with Bell’s Labs and we are grateful for the incredible ways they have contributed to the Columbus Zoo’s cheetah program.”

For more information about the Cheetah Conservation Fund, see https://cheetah.org/learn/about-cheetahs  and the Columbus Zoo’s information about cheetahs, https://www.columbuszoo.org/guide/animal.html?id=59d2b532-bd2f-67d7-bdc2-ff0000bf4b43