Puppy and cheetah cub make unlikely pair of step-siblings

The playful pair of Rozi the cheetah cub and Ziggy the labrador-kelpie-collie mix show that sibling bonds can transcend species boundaries.

Rozi was born in late February at Western Plains Zoo in Dubbo, Australia, by emergency caesarean after her mother, Siri, went into labour early.

Siri never produced milk, and because Rozi was critically unwell for the first weeks of her life, the mother and daughter had to be separated.

Rozi’s two siblings were stillborn, so as the sole surviving cub, she faced the prospect of at least 18 months in isolation, leaving her ill-equipped to join the zoo’s breeding programme.

Zookeepers decided that if Rozi was going to develop and socialise normally, giving her the best chance of successfully breeding one day, she would need a step-sibling.

A decade ago, Rozi’s mother had a dog as a companion, and puppies have also been successfully paired with cheetah cubs in the US, says Jordan Michelmore, a cheetah keeper at the zoo in Dubbo.

A domestic kitten wouldn’t have been suitable, she says, because Rozi’s playmate would need to be tough enough to hold their own with the cheetah for at least a year.

“Dogs have a little bit more resilience and a little bit more energy, and they’ve got that size that more closely matches the cheetah as she grows,” says Michelmore.

When both were around 2 months old, Ziggy and Rozi were cautiously introduced to each other. Ziggy, who had to be carefully quarantined and vaccinated, was initially kept on a lead. But after two weeks, the two were playing freely and even sleeping together.

“They match each other so well with their energy level, the type of play that they do and their size,” says Michelmore. “The dopeyness, the lightheartedness and the looseness of a puppy seem to match Rozi pretty well for this stage of life.”

At around 12 to 18 months, female cheetahs become solitary, seeking their own space. That is when keepers expect that Ziggy will need to be separated and adopted out to a new home.

“We’ll just take our cues from them, and when she’s starting to not really want to spend as much time with him, then we can start phasing him out,” Michelmore says.

However, she is also considering adopting Ziggy, which means he and Rozi will have a greater chance of keeping in touch. She says some zoos in the US have found that cheetahs and their adopted siblings can remain close well into adulthood.

She describes Ziggy as being like an “annoying big brother”. “But the joy that we see in her body when he comes back into her yard is just palpable,” she says.

“I’m also hoping Ziggy will also be a very well-rounded dog. He’s got the most unconventional upbringing that a puppy could possibly have.”