Okay, activating cute . . . now:
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| Squeeeeeee. . . I mean, what a remarkable specimen. |
This little guy is being hand-reared by Busch Gardens Tampa staff and will eventually be introduced into their Cheetah Run habitat. He was born at the Jacksonville Zoo, but his mother abandoned him. I don't know all of the details, but I think he was the only one in the litter, and many species of animals instinctively abandon any litter less than two. It's a survival thing. It takes just as much effort to keep one baby alive as three or four, and , in the wild, the odds are against a litter of one. It seems cruel, but it's centuries of evolution learning built into a mother's instinct. In that regard, it's really quite fascinating.
And, of course, it's going to be a happy ending for this little guy regardless. As you can see from this video, he is in very caring hands.
More pictures and info over at ZooBorns.
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