A rare kind of purr-fect, these cheetahs sure to prosper

The Wild Cat Conservation Centre in Wilberforce has revealed the names of the 10 week-old cubs, who are only the second cheetah cubs ever to be bred and born in Sydney.

Boy cubs Ezra (left) and Exton (right). The Wild Cat Conservation Centre in Sydney is looking for people to sponsor the cubs and their siblings or become cheetah cub donors before the end of the financial year.

This litter of purr-fect cheetah cubs has finally received their names, adding extra spots of joy and excitement for staff and visitors.

The Wild Cat Conservation Centre in Wilberforce, north of Windsor, has revealed the names of the 10 week-old cubs, who are only the second cheetah cubs ever to be bred and born in Sydney.

Founder and centre director Ben Britton said the four cubs – two females Dottie and Darcy, as well as two males Exton and Ezra – are spending a lot of time playing, with their personalities starting to peek through.

“Dottie is actually named after my late grandmother, so it’s a nice little family link there, while Darcy is probably the leader of the group – she’s the smallest, but the most outgoing out of the four of them,” Mr Britton said.

“Exton and Ezra are the two boys, but like most males we find when they’re young, they’re a little more dopey than the females, so the sisters have the smarts and the boys provide the size and the back up,” he said.

The cubs from left: Darcie, Dottie, Exton and Ezra.

From now to the age of six months the cubs will be assessed to see if they are suitable to partake in the The Wild Cat Conservation Centre rewilding program, with the hopes they will follow their older sister Edie’s footsteps, who was released into the wild in South Africa earlier this year.

“We are proud to be the only organisation in Australia that is returning cheetahs to the wild,” Mr Britton said.

“The success of Edie’s release back in March, the first cheetah ever bred in Australia and returned to the wild shows that it can be done and more importantly it should be done.”

The not-for-profit foundation relies on the public’s support to continue their work in conserving and saving wild cat species from going extinct.

“We need money, donations and sponsorship from people to help us do the work we do out here and help us raise the cubs and then ultimately help get them back to the wild,” Mr Britton said.

“It costs us a lot of money to rewild our cheetahs and send them home to Africa — hundreds of thousands of dollars — so we need to raise as much money as possible over the next 12 months to help send these cubs home.

“People can become a cheetah cub donor where they can come out to the centre, meet the cubs and join us in the habitat where they are being fed – coming up nice and close to the cubs, while learning about the rewilding program and the unique work we do out here,” he said.

“With less than 7000 cheetah remaining in Africa, our insurance population is vital in helping to conserve this amazing species.”

— For more information, visit www.wildcatcentre.org.au