05. Cheetah and a dog

You might think that they would be unlikely playmate, but 7-week-old cheetah cub Ruuxa and his 8-week-old Rhodesian Ridgeback puppy companion Raina, have formed quite the friendship in the latest attraction at San Diego Zoo Safari Park in California.

After being rejected by his mother and being hand-raised by keepers, Ruuxa was chosen as an animal ambassador, and was paired up early in life with Raina for companionship.

The fast friends are still under the watchful eyes of their trainers for their playdates and the young pair will be monitored closely, as their bond develops, says animal training manager Susie Ekard.

“They are being introduced, so they still have supervised visits but they love playing with each other and they are having a great time so we decided it was now time to add in letting the public seeing this. So it will be everyday from 12:15 to 1 o’clock.”

As the two friends grow up together, Raina’s body language will communicate to Ruuxa that there is nothing to fear in new or public surroundings, which relaxes and calms the cheetah.

It promises to be the start of something special for this cute couple.

Difficult words: cub (baby cheetah), ambassador (somebody who represents a group of people/animals), supervise (keep watch over somebody)

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