Cheetah close-up

Mom and I went to a big cat rehabilitation center to see a few of the animals we were unlikely to see in the wild. There were civets and servils and African wild cats. The latter evolved after the importation of domestic cats to kill mice for the Boer (Afrikaan farmers). Left to their own devices, the mated with wild cats and became legitimately wild themselves. They look not too unlike a large domestic tabby, but distinctive markings, rings around their legs and tails, set them apart. And they look very mean.

The highlight of the visit was meeting two cheetahs, Juba and Moya. Peace found them as cubs and helped to raise them before they were sent to the rehab center to breed. Very friendly cats, despite the large teeth and claws, we got to walk right up to them and pet the cats, making them purr. Cheetah fur is more wiry than I might have expected. 

I was completely in awe, and not a little nervous, to be so close to the kitties. Mom on the other hand, dove right in. She was all over the cheetahs and in the next cage we visited, the civets liked her too. One of the civets (maybe Bennett sized), actually approached mom, rubbing against her legs just like a house cat might. Mom reached down to pet her, which the cat also liked, and the cat peed on Mom's legs,  'marking' Mom for her own.