This past Memorial Day was a BIG day for us here at Busch Gardens. Not only was it a national holiday (worth celebrating in its own right), but we hit a couple of important milestones as well.
It was the anniversary of the Grand Opening of Cheetah Hunt and Cheetah Run, as well as the birthday party for our seven female cheetahs, who were all born in the months of April and May.
We keepers are always excited for the chance to share our animals’ daily lives with our guests. We love birthdays and anniversaries; they give us a chance to highlight the animals as the individuals we know and love.
The education staff in our Animal Care Center graciously took the time to make a giant “cake” out of cardboard boxes, as well as many awesomely decorated presents. “The girls” as we like to call them are still quite playful at this age and enjoy any opportunity to jump on, shred and knock things over.
We also put many of their favorite toys on the habitat and for some flair, added some feathers that were molted by birds here in the park and then collected by our bird keepers.
At 3 o’clock the cheetahs were let out onto the habitat and seemed to be thoroughly enjoying themselves as they stalked their presents, pounced on their “cake” and chased each other around with streamers in their mouths.
Later that afternoon we tossed them meat popsicles as a nice cool treat to end the day. Who doesn’t love a popsicle on a hot afternoon!?
What are some unique ways YOU celebrate birthdays or anniversaries? I think taking one of our Behind the Scenes Tours would be a great way to celebrate!
