Six-Week-Old Orphan Cheetah Cub Gets An Unlikely Lifelong Companion! [Video]

When a cheetah cub was born to a female cheetah at the San Diego Zoo Safari park, the employees there were overjoyed. However, their happiness turned to dismay when they realized that the little cheetah cub was rejected by his own mother. While such a situation in the wild would have meant certain death for the junior cheetah, the zoo keepers came to his rescue.

The cheetah cub, named Ruuxa, was taken away from his mother. It was later decided that Ruuxa would be raised at the Safari park itself to be an animal ambassador. However, since the zoo keepers did not want the little cheetah cub to feel lonely, they wanted to pair him with someone he could get along with easily. They didn’t have to look far.

Also born at around the same time in the zoo was a little Rhodesian ridgeback puppy. The zoo keepers decided to introduce the six-week-old cheetah to the seven-week-old puppy and they seem to have hit on a friendship right from day one!

According to Susie Ekard, the Animal Training Manager at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, the cheetah and the puppy take naps together and snuggle up to feel each others warmth. When awake, both of them play together for hours, reports San Diego 6 News.

The little cheetah and the puppy will remain lifelong companions.

This is not the first time cheetahs have been paired with dogs. According to animal experts, cheetahs feel comfortable when they are with dogs partly because of their less aggressive nature and general friendly body language.

Looks like this is just the beginning of a beautiful friendship between these two animals.

[Image via YouTube]