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\2- PORT PERRY STAR - Tuesday, August 9,1994 "Scugog's Community Newspaper of Choice" | meeting with her colleagues and soon by Jeff Mitchell found herself front and centre. Port Perry Star "The curator of mammals decided the Theres A SCUGOG connection z00 should actually concentrate on chee- with an exciting program at the Metro ~~ tahs because cheetahs are one of the Zoo in Toronto, where a program aimed cats that had never been successfully at breeding African cheetahs in captivity bred in captivity," she said. is meeting with a great deal of success. "No one wanted to do it, so I Greenbank native Heather Tomaso, volunteered. now a Brooklin resident, heads up the The zoo had a stock of cheetahs on program at the zoo's African paddock hand, but many were reaching an age at and has been part of the ground-break- Which they were deemed unlikely to be ing exercise since it was begun in the successful breeders. So several new cats mid-80's. As coordinator were brought in, some of them as part of _ of the breeding program an exchange a.' she has overseen an program with experiment which has, the Rockland over the years, resulted or African Lion in five litters being born $4 GW CURDS IN Ne Nouse Safari. in captivity and more Tr But before information on the endangered cats the experimént began in earnest, a lot of documented. research had to be carried out. The program continues today as zoo Mrs. Tomaso exchanged information workers attempt to match breeding age ~ With other zoos where successful captive cheetahs, and share information with breeding programs had been carried out, other zoos and agencies on their work. ~~ such as San Diego, California and | "Right now our next goal is getting our Columbus, Ohio. next generation to breed," Mrs. Tomaso She learned that it may be necessary to change the way the chee- tahs at the zoo were kept in order to meet with success. At the Metro zoo the cats were living together in a group, which runs counter to their nature, she said. "In the wild, the cheetah is a solitary animal," she said. "They " - basically live A Cheetah cub relaxes on the branch of a tree at the Po alone and only i i recent interview at her come together for mating." pe during a recen So a new cheetah area was set up in "When I volunteered in 1985 to run 1986 and male and female cheetahs the program, I didn't realize I'd stillbe ~~ were split up. Then, zoo staff would pair doing it nine years later." male and females and release them on their own in the new area, allowing RS. TOMASO recalled that her ~~ them to become acquainted ...and hop- involvement with the program began ing for the best. one day when, as a second-level keeper For the next four years, we just sort at the African paddock, she attended a of mixed and matched," she said. Breeding cheetahs comes naturally to girl from farm Some sets of cheetahs got on well together, while other matches were failures. It was easy to see if the cats could stand one another during day- light observation, but mating seems to have occurred at night. The zoo staff were unsure of how things were going at all until a number of years after the experiment began. "In 1989 we were very sur- prised one day when we came in and found three new cubs in the house," said Mrs. Tomaso. ' V ORK ON THE cheetah experiment has been a special project for Mrs. Tomaso, a keeper who has worked in a variety of capacities since being hired at the zoo in 1982. She grew up on a dairy farm in Greenbank and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Heather Tomaso and one of the Cheetah cubs. wildlife biology at Guelph University, and therefore had the kind of background management was seeking when she applied for a job. She quickly learned that a keeper's job is anything but romantic. "Most of our job is very mundane," she said. "It's a lot like living on a farm: You spend most of your day cleaning up after (the animals)." As she worked her way through the keepers' ranks over the years, Mrs. Tomaso has been assigned duties in various zoo departments, but has always enjoyed the African paddock with its large beasts the best. She said it's likely her farm back- ground that fostered her affinity for the larger animals; when a position at the Africa paddock became available she applied for it, and has been posted there since. Now MRS. TOMASO and her col- leagues continue to work with the chee- tahs, compiling data and attempting more successful matches among the cats. After the litter in 1989 there followed one in 1990, two in 1991, and one in 1992. Some of the cats born then are now nearing breeding age. The experiment has required fine-tun- ing along the way -- it was discovered that females were more likely to care longer for cubs if they could be raised outdoors, for example, so breeding sched- ules were altered so that litters would arrive in the spring -- and information is exchanged with other zoos and agencies invo}ved in similar projects. In addition, all the cheetahs brought into the world via the Metro Zoo are reg- ~ istered with the Species Survival Plan, which tracks the status of endangered species. And soon two new cheetahs, imported from South Africa, will be introduced into the local stock -- they're primarily of Nimibian heritage -- to ensure continu- ing purity of the bloodline. It's important and satisfying work, especially considering the plight of the cheetah on its native African savannah. "There are probably less than 12,000 cheetahs left in Africa," said Mrs. Tomaso, explaining that hunting by man and predators and a disappearing habi- tat are taking their toll. "In the wild less than 20 per cent ever live to adulthood." 'Cover Me Beautiful' AUTO ELECTRIC REBUILDERS/INSTALLERS BENEFIT FROM 16 YEARS EXPERIENCE Custom Upholstery 235 Queen St., Port Perry Proprietor: Shawn Nanay 985-3900 [EE eB oF EL ry David Chow's Restaurant would like to introduce their witha. 985-8406 GUARANTEED INVESTMENT CERTIFICATES Rates subject to change without notice Precision - = _-- = r= = Auto Electric & General Repair " Alternators e Starters * Air Conditioning } Rebuilt on the Premises Using All New Parts 0) Full Warranty - Class "A" Mechanic - JENNIFER LYNN FABER new luncheon special menu. 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