Alabama zoo’s only cheetah euthanized

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Zoo’s only cheetah euthanized
Birmingham Business Journal – by Cindy Crawford Staff

The Birmingham Zoo’s only cheetah died Wednesday.

Zoo officials said Dolly, an 18-year-old female, was euthanized after declining health due to old age.

Dolly was the oldest recorded cheetah living in captivity, the zoo said in a news release. Cheetahs may live eight to 12 years in captivity, but her life “was extended beyond the average lifespan as a result of the excellent care given to her by Birmingham Zoo’s veterinarians and keepers,” the zoo said.

“She enjoyed lying in the sun, interacting with keepers and chasing squirrels,” the release said.

Dolly was born in 1991 and spent the first two years in at Fossil Rim Wildlife Center in Glen Rose, Texas, before coming to the Birmingham Zoo, where she lived the last 16 years.

There was no word on plans to replace her.

http://birmingham.bizjournals.com/birmingham/stories/2009/08/31/daily29.html

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