Two cheetahs snarling in Goldau Animal Park - at least temporarily

The two cheetahs in Tierpark Goldau (Goldau Animal Park)react immediately with a warning growl, a snarl, if you open the protective cover at the entrance to the quarantine station. Within hardly a second, the two cats are at the door, observing any possible intruder with eagle eyes.

"The cats are strikingly attentive, they perceive every movement, and respond to every movement of the observer behind the secure steel door," says Martin Wehrle, veterinarian at Tierpark Goldau. Luckily, there is a strong steel fence between the viewer and the elegant cats. You wouldn’t want to have any contact with their bared teeth - a deadly weapon. The hunting behaviour of cheetahs is highly specialised, and they are considered to be the fastest land animals in the world.

You may wonder what two adult male cheetahs are doing in Tierpark Goldau. "The two animals come from a breeding farm in South Africa, and they will be on display next week at Knie’s Children's Zoo in Rapperswil," says Martin Wehrle. South Africa is considered to be a country with a rabies crisis. The animals, which were legally imported by the Children's Zoo, must therefore be quarantined before being displayed at the zoo. "The two animals have now been our guests for a little more than three months," says the vet.

Knie’s Children's Zoo in Rapperswil already has a slightly older female cheetah in its enclosure, and she is now to receive company from the two cats. "They will be relocated on Tuesday next week, and we will see whether the three animals can live together in one enclosure," says Wehrle. Everything was specially organised for the quarantined animals in the zoo. They come from a breeding farm, but are wild animals, and were transported to Switzerland in a special wooden-metal cage. The wood had to be burned for safety reasons, and the metal was disinfected and disposed of. This is what the Federal Veterinary Office demands.

The cats eat around four kilograms of meat a day. And so that the animals do not become bored, they are kept busy naturally in the Goldau animal park, for example, with foraging. The two cats even have a cinema in their quarantine station: "We keep them busy with film scenes from the African bush. They react extremely positively to their cinema.”

The two male cheetahs are currently quarantined in Goldau. (Photo: Erhard Gick, Goldau, June 6, 2019)

The two cheetahs are not the only guests in the quarantine station. There are currently two very young fawns, whose mother was run over by the train. Game wardens rescued the animals and brought them to the zoo. A farmer also brought two badgers after their mother died. "Wherever possible, we will re-introduce the animals to their natural surroundings," says the vet.

A whole black redstart family (birds) is currently being fed by the keepers several times a day. The nest was on a construction site, and the helpless animals were brought to Goldau. "They are being raised in the animal park," says Martin Wehrle. The rescue station that the zoo operates is a costly project. "We can only do it thanks to generous donations, as we do not receive any public funding," explains vet Martin Wehrle. The zoo constantly takes in abandoned cats, illegally imported dogs and even valuable turtles: a tortoise and a forbidden imported and abandoned sea turtle.