Our October Surprise!

On Friday, September 9, 2011, we shared with you a very exciting announcement--the arrival of two cheetahs named Sam and Kodi.  As you may recall, Sam and Kodi were re-homed from Fossil Rim Wildlife Center and were placed in a temporary enclosure while we fund raised enough money to start building the cheetahs' new habitat! 

Thanks to Chase Community Giving Program and our wonderful supporters who graciously donated towards our Razoo "Cheetah Home Improvement Project", we were able to raise enough funds by December 2011. 

Once the weather improved and the final schematics drafted, we were able to order the supplies needed to build the cheetah enclosure!

In January 2012, the cheetahs' "Fast Track Habitat" was just a dream...

Before

Before

But today, the new cheetah habitat is a reality!

We want to thank all the hard working volunteers who came out and helped build the cats their new home.  Our volunteers put in long hours, working during the worst part of our hot summer months, with one goal in mind--build the cats a fabulous habitat!

This weekend, the cheetahs' new home was finally completed.  Everyone oohed and aahhed the empty habitat.  It just seemed too empty.

So, on the spur of the moment, Vicky thought, "Hey, let's see how easy it will be to move the cats."  So yesterday afternoon she placed a cheetah-sized transporter flush against  their door, just to see if Sam or Kodi would enter it.  If a cat entered, then the big cheetah move was "on".  If either cat refused to enter the transporter, then the move would be put off for another day.

As luck would have it, Sam walked right into the transporter! 

"Holy cow, get another cage" yelled Vicky.  Like his brother, after some coaching for about 10 minutes or so, Kodi finally entered the second cage and was slowly transported to his new home. 

Now the big moment arrived...it was time for the cats to see and smell their brand new home!



Each time the gate opened, to admit Kodi first, then Sam, we held our breaths to see what would happen next. 

You may have noticed a little "drool action" going on with Sam.  Well, Sam was getting antsy waiting for his brother to hurry up and enter his transporter so they could both be moved to their new habitat.  We fed Sam treats while he waited, but that just made his drooling worse.  He just wanted out of the transporter!  Poor boy had to wait just a wee bit longer as we released  Kodi first since he was not happy about the big move.  Needless to say, once that gate opened up, Sam was thrilled to join his brother in their brand new home!

It wasn't long before we felt comfortable enough to allow the cats out of their quarters and on to their new playground! 

Please excuse our shaky videos as this was such a "spur of the moment" move and we were so excited to see the empty habitat now a home for two handsome cheetahs, that we could barely contain our excitement!

The entire cheetah habitat is about 14,500 square feet and it wasn't long before Sam and Kodi explored the outer perimeter of their new home.  What caught us off guard (no video -- sorry!) was Kodi running across the playground, jumping over a fallen tree, just so he could get a close look at a horse running across the field!  Running!!  Jumping!! Success!!

Vicky reported that the cats were still exploring their home at 1am in the morning.  We don't know if they went into their climate controlled house which has heat for the winter and air conditioning for the hot summer months.  We imagine at some point soon, when the weather gets cooler, the cats will spend more time in their house, out of sight of their adoring public.

If you want to see the cheetahs in their new habitat this weekend (or another upcoming weekend), you are more then welcome to say "hello" to the boys.  Just be sure to ask our friendly volunteers for assistance in finding their new home on our property!

This project would not have been possible without our wonderful donors who helped us make the cheetahs' dream home a reality.  The "Fast Track Habitat" dedication plaque, with the names of the donors who contributed $1,000 or more, will be put up next week.  Hopefully, in about two weeks, Fossil Rim representatives will be able to come out and see the boys enjoying their new home.

We still have some "home" improvement projects to complete such as landscaping, but we figured it was more important to move the cats so they can enjoy the open space!

Now that the cheetahs moved out of their old temporary home, we plan to moves some more cats around, so stay tuned for all the upcoming news on their moves!

In the meantime, here are a few more pictures for you to enjoy!

Cheetah sighting!



"Thank you everyone for my new home!
You can stop taking pictures now..."

Wait for me!

Which way did the horse go?



We hoped you enjoyed today's cheetah surprise!  If you are in the area, we'd love to have you come out and see the boys in their new home.  We are on the Fall/Winter schedule, which means we are only open on Saturdays and Sundays.  For more information, please click HERE!

We hope you enjoyed today's blog posting! Be sure to check back tomorrow for more fun and informative information about our exotic cats and their friends of In-Sync Exotics! Don't forget to let us know your reaction to this posting by clicking on one of the reaction buttons below--and share this blog posting with others please ~ Thank you!

http://www.insyncexotics.blogspot.com/2012/10/an-education-in-human-behavior.html
.