This is all part of the zoo’s Animal Ambassador Program. As part of the program, exotic animals are trained to travel to off-site events and participate in presentations. The chosen animals live off the main zoo exhibit and interact with domestic animals.
The dog and cheetah pairing is the most famous. The pairing began when the zoo introduced a shelter rescue dog, Hopper, to a three-month old cheetah, Amara. The two have been inseparable since then.
Each dog and cheetah pair is different and takes a different amount of time to get used to each other. The pairs become so close that, if a dog were to die, the zookeepers wouldn’t introduce a new one. They would simply have to do their best to keep the cheetah calm themselves.
