ALONGLEAT KEEPERS HAVE NAMED NEWEST ADDITIONS
Longleat keepers are delighted to announce the names chosen for the newest additions to the
safari park, two cheetah cubs, are Poppy & Winston.

The cheetah is officially classified as ‘Vulnerable’ on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species which means it is likely to become ‘Endangered’ unless the circumstances threatening its survival and reproduction improve.

In 2008 the IUCN estimated there to be around 7,500-10,000 adult cheetahs in Africa and there are concerns the numbers have decreased significantly since then.

The births, which come almost five years after cheetahs first arrived at Longleat, are particularly welcome as the cubs are part of the European Endangered Species Programme.

“Both mum Wilma and dad Carl have very valuable genetics within the European population as they came to us from a captive breeding population in Pretoria, South Africa,” said keeper Eloise Kilbane.