Kris the cheetah has a new bestie — who happens to be a dog.
There was one catch: Blakely was retired. The dog came out of retirement just for Kris, but was ready to go back to the easy life after a few bonus months on the job.
Sam Greene/The Enquirer, Cincinnati Enquirer via Imagn Content Services, LLC/USA Today Network/Sipa USA
According to Cincinnati’s WLWT 5 News, Remus is a mixed-breed rescue dog who is about one month older than Kris. And so far, the two don’t seem to notice each other’s differences.
“I don’t know if the dog thinks that’s a weird-looking dog or if the cheetah thinks that a poor cheetah has no spots. I don’t think they put much thought into it,” said Linda Castaneda, lead cat ambassador at Cincinnati Zoo, told WLWT 5.
This is the zoo’s seventh dog-cheetah pairing;in a blog postabout Kris and Remus, zoo staff wrote that the idea is all about companionship, giving each lone animal a “sibling” with whom to play and learn social norms — things they can’t do with a human trainer.
“Dogs can communicate with cheetahs in a way that we as humans simply cannot,” the staff writes. “As it turns out, dog play is pretty comparable to cheetah play.”
According to zoo staff, there will come a time in a few years when the two animals have to separate, but for now, they’re busy being adorable besties. Once Kris is vaccinated, the pair will be on display for zoo-goers, and in the meantime, zoo staff promises lots of cute moments on social media.
source: people.com
