Next along the perimeter are the Cheetahs. The Metro Richmond Zoo has had good success in breeding Cheetahs and is home to nearly 50 animals, I think. Most are kept at an adjacent site called The Cheetah Breeding Center (CBC). The initial breeding population of cheetahs started in 2011 with 7 females and 2 males. Since then 40 cubs have been born, and most have survived birth. Just this year the AZA (Metro Richmond Zoo is not a member) is transferring two males from the Central Florida Zoo in Sanford, Florida to increase the genetic diversity of the zoo's CBC program. Out in the yard today were a male and female and three adolescents.
Beyond the Cheetahs is another large area with a solitary male Ostrich, 4 Grant's Zebras and a herd of a dozen Addax. Addax are critically endangered in the wilds of northern Africa. The success of their breeding program for this species is also producing wonderful results.
Can you see the Cheetahs in this image of the enclosure? Don't worry, I'll zoom in a bit!
There are 4 subspecies of Zebra in North American Zoo's: 1) Burchell's Zebra, 2) Grevy's Zebra, 3) Grant's Zebra, and 4) Hartmann's Mountain Zebra. They are found in numbers based on that order with Burchell's the most common and Hartmann's Mountain the least.
Addax are native to the Sahel region of Africa, that band of land between the Sahara Desert and the more tropical equatorial region. Thanks to climate change, human population growth and war these animals are on a fast track to extinction. As far as anyone knows there are still small populations in regions of Mauritania, Niger and Chad and attempts have been made to reintroduce them to isolated regions of Morocco and Tunisia. Their prospects are precarious.
In winter their coats grow darker and in summer they bleach out to white and thin considerably.
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