Feeding the Cheetah Triplets | Magic of Disney's Animal Kingdom
I don't go to the gym very often. It's a real workout. Gotta come and shift the girls in. So every single day we're doing this trek in the land of Africa.
Five-year-old cheetah triplets Maathai, Murie, and Fossey wait for keeper Dominique to serve breakfast.
"Okay, I see some kitties." This is the auditory cue response. Pretty much like their breakfast bowl with the... "Hi. Hi, baby. You're my girl." And the thought, in my opinion, is definitely our funniest cat. She's kind of a sweetheart. She does this thing where she showcases and spits at you, and then you feed her and she's like, "Oh, I never did that. That wasn't me. I'm very nice."
We don't play favorites, but she's definitely got a special place in my heart.
"Buddy, you got it for me? Yeah." Better than I talk to the cats a lot. It does help them to get used to you. I wish they could talk back. It would make our job so much easier if there was something going on and they were like, "My stomach's not feeling well today."
"All done! You finished. Nice job. Now we will see the status of the other two."
"Nice job, Murie." Murie and Fossey come in for their eats. "Okay. You have a lot here that you dropped, so I know."
With full bellies, it's time to start the day.
"Hi. Good morning. These are my girls. I love them so much. They're so cute. Look at them. You got Mathai right here."
Take it a nice break. I'm trying to learn their behaviors so that sometimes if they're having an off day or an off week, we're able to tell those things. Recently, Mathai has shown some worrying behavior. So she's had this gastritis for a while. Sometimes she does have some flare-ups.
She has been doing a lot of Riegert. Sometimes it's like a small mountain. Sometimes it's a big amount. Lately, she's triggered pretty much her whole meal, plus some for like a couple of days in a row. So that was pretty concerning.
One of those things that we are trying to do with Mathai and her stomach is give her some antacids. My fingers are always crossed, and I'm always hoping for the best that she will be a little bit better.