BALTIMORE — The Maryland Zoo announced some shakeups with their Cheetah habitat coming soon.
On Friday, the Maryland Zoo announced the cheetah brother pair, 4-year-olds Refu and Wgasa, have been sent to the Lee G. Simmons Conservation Park and Wildlife Safari in Ashland, Nebraska, in exchange for four-year-old cheetah brothers Bud and Davis.
“As an active participant in the Association of Zoos & Aquariums (AZA) Cheetah Species Survival Progam (SSP) we were asked to move Refu and Wgasa to Omaha so they could become part of their cheetah breeding progam,” stated Erin Cantwell, mammal collection and conservation manager at The Maryland Zoo. “While we are sad to see them leave, we are glad that they will have a chance to be paired up with other genetically valuable cheetah to further strengthen the world's population of these rare animals.”
Bud and Davis, the cheetahs coming to the Maryland Zoo, were born on October 1, 2014 at the Fossil Rim Wildlife Center in Glen Rose, Texas. They moved to the African Grasslands habitat at Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium in 2016 and then moved to Omaha Zoo’s Wildlife Safari Park in 2018.
“At the moment, we do not know when Bud and Davis will make their first public appearance,” said Cantwell. “They are currently in mandatory quarantine while they are introduced to their new home and new animal care team, so the habitat will be empty for a few weeks while we prepare for their debut. We look forward to seeing them along the African Journey boardwalk soon.”
