The Truth About Cats and Dogs

Every picture tells a story, and this one is quite a tale.

Two cheetahs sitting beside two Anatolian shepherd dogs and their keepers here at the Houston Zoo tell an intriguing conservation story. For a rare cat to survive in the wilds of Africa, it may take the help of a dog.

Renowned as the world’s fastest land animal, cheetahs are threatened through out their remaining range in Africa.  Cheetahs are losing habitat to farms and ranchlands; local landowners are likely to kill cheetahs that they believe are preying on their livestock. Without some conservation intervention, the cheetah may be doomed.

That’s where the dog enters the picture. The Anatolian shepherd dog is a large 6,000-year-old breed that originated in Turkey and Asian Minor and utilized for centuries to guard livestock.  Wildlife conservationists in southern Africa saw no reason why the dogs couldn’t be used to guard cattle, sheep and goats against baboons, jackals, leopards and…cheetahs. It’s worked!  As a result of the Anatolian shepherds being introduced to Namibia, the farmers stopped killing the cheetahs – the cats were no longer preying on their livestock.

At the Houston Zoo, we didn’t train our Anatolian shepherds – Taji and Tusker – to guard against the cheetahs.  Instead, we raised our cheetahs – Kito and Kiburi – and our dogs together to be lifelong companions.

A major part of the Houston Zoo’s mission is to educate and engage the public regarding real-world conservation issues. At the Zoo, wild cats and working dogs have formed a unique conservation partnership.