Austin Zoo welcomes two new cheetahs

Two cheetahs find new home at Austin Zoo

Daya and Amina have a new home at the Austin Zoo, which says it was approached by the Cheetah Animal Management Program to care for the animals.

AUSTIN, Texas - Just last month the Austin Zoo welcomed in two new cheetahs, and they've already caught the eye of many visitors.

"Their names are Daya and Amina. Daya is six years old and Amina is seven years old. And they are the first animals we've acquired that are part of an animal management program," says Hope Carr, education manager at the Austin Zoo.

The Austin Zoo was approached by the ZAA accredited Cheetah Animal Management Program (AMP), whose mission is to ensure the long term survival of the species through managed propagation, which is the only effective means of insulating against a potential collapse of wild populations.

The Austin Zoo's goal is to have a diverse population of animals. "A lot of people know us primarily as a rescue facility, but with these guys we're able to become more involved in conservation," says Carr.

Cheetahs have recently been classified as endangered; the zoo is working on teaching those who visit more about how you can conserve them in the wild.

"We are still going to continue to be a non-breeding facility, but by housing cheetahs here, it will allow us to make room at other facilities for breeding animals," says Carr.

The zoo will provide care and housing for individual cheetahs until space becomes available at a zoo that has a breeding program.

Even though Daya and Amina just got here to Austin, they are enjoying their new home.

"So they have been a little bit shy, but it has been really fun to see them start to explore their habitat more," says Carr.