Meet my good friends Chuck (background) and Norris-
Both are just about 3 years old and were raised from young cubs at the cheetah sanctuary we voluteer at. They came to the sanctuary at less than a month old and were hand reared by one of the workers. We first met them when they were nearly a year old. By then they were the size of great danes but not as stocky as they are now. They hadn't develpoed manes but were getting a bit scruffy around the shoulders.
Unlike with the cheetah we can't enter their enclosure as they are too boisterous and would cause serious damage without meaning it. They do like to rub up against the bars of their gate for a good scratch behind the ears and under the chin. Chuck also like to nuzzle and lick knuckles.
They are getting of an age where they are developing their 'voice'. Going off to sleep listening to the guys 'huhnering' and groaning and trying to roar is quite special. A guy who works at a reserve says he can har them of an evening and he is over 5km away
The sad thing is that Chuck and Norris were originaly the property of a canned hunting farm- an operation where the lions are raised by humans so become accustomed to them and don't steer clear. They are then released into small reserves (very small, probably about the size of an urban park) where rich folk pay top dollar to look for them and shoot them. not hard when the area is restricted and the 'prey' doesn't do a runner
