Cheetah cub ‘Rozi’ bonds with surrogate sibling ‘Ziggy’ the dog

It seems “man’s best friend” has become … cat’s best friend?

A cheetah cub at Taronga Western Plains Zoo has become best buddies with a dog. In fact, the pair have become more than friends, they have become surrogate* siblings.

Keepers sought the help of a labrador-cross-kelpie-cross-collie named Ziggy, after cheetah cub “Rozi” was born prematurely* on 22 February 2025. Rozi, which means rose and a symbol of joy in Swahili*, was born via emergency caesarean section* after her mum Siri went into premature labour. Siri made a complete recovery, but did not produce any milk. Due to Rozi’s complex health needs, it was not possible to reunite her with her mum.

As a lone cub, Rozi needed a furry friend to bond with, who could grow with her and help her learn through play. Enter Ziggy.

After months of intensive care* at the zoo’s wildlife hospital, Rozi has now settled into her new home behind the scenes at the cheetah breeding facility, along with her puppy pal.

“We started to introduce Rozi and Ziggy when they were both a little over two-months-old and at first Ziggy was quite boisterous* and excited to have a new little playmate,” said cheetah (and puppy) keeper Jordan Michelmore.

“Rozi doesn’t have any cheetah siblings and cheetah cubs normally play together, chase, pounce, groom and stalk each other. All of these behaviours are key milestones for a growing cheetah cub to learn.

“The pair have now become best friends and it’s been beautiful to watch their relationship develop. Through it, Rozi is able to develop those same behaviours with Ziggy that she would otherwise have done with real siblings. So Ziggy is providing that sort of pseudo-sibling* relationship for her.”

It’s not the first time zookeepers in Dubbo have looked to man’s best friend to help raise a cheetah cub. Rozi’s mum Siri was also a single cub and was hand-raised alongside a retriever-cross-mastiff puppy named Iris back in 2015.

Female cheetah cubs spend the first 12-18 months of life with their mother and siblings before leaving the group, and this was done with Siri and Iris.

The early relationship was important for Siri’s welfare. Now Siri has become a mother herself and is playing a vital role in the regional breeding program for the vulnerable* species.

“We did find with Siri, when we started putting her in with males, she had that confidence, she had that resilience* and she had that socialisation* that really improved her breeding behaviours,” Ms Michelmore said.

“It does truly feel full circle now that Siri has had a cub, beautiful Rozi, and now Rozi’s been introduced to a puppy as well.”

At around 12-18 months old, Rozi will also be ready to leave her family and live on her own. She will eventually also have the opportunity to have cubs of her own.

Ziggy won’t live at the zoo forever and keepers are mindful of their duty to prepare him for life after his role as a cheetah companion dog, when he will be adopted by a member of the zoo family.

“Rozi has really, really valuable and important genetics* and will hopefully play a part in our breeding program in the future,” Ms Michelmore said.

“With Ziggy, we are trying to raise him to be a well-rounded, socialised, confident, independent dog but he’s also got a really important job to do – he’s helping Rozi develop.

“He truly does seem like the best dog for the job.”

Cheetahs are classified as vulnerable in the wild with fewer than 7,000 mature individuals remaining. Wild populations continue to decline due to human-wildlife conflict, loss of habitat and habitat fragmentation*, poaching and illegal wildlife trafficking*. Cheetahs are also very difficult to breed, so every birth is extremely valuable to the global population.

Taronga Western Plains Zoo is part of the international cheetah breeding program, and the first Australasian zoo to breed the species.

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GLOSSARY

• surrogate: in place of birth siblings, a play on words since a surrogate mum is a woman who carries another person’s baby when that person is unable to get pregnant themselves
• prematurely: before she was fully developed
• Swahili: an east African language
• caesarean section: a surgical birth where the baby is delivered by a surgeon who cuts open the abdomen
• intensive care: a section of the hospital where patients who need the most attention are cared for
• boisterous: loud and full of energy
• pseudo-sibling: pretend brother or sister
• resilience: the ability to bounce back after receiving a hard knock
• socialisation: experience interacting with others
• genetics: the DNA blueprint that gives an animal its distinctive features
• vulnerable: facing a high risk of extinction
• habitat fragmentation: when an animal’s natural home environment gets split up so much there is not much space left for it to roam freely around, because it can’t get from A to B
• trafficking: trapping and sending wild animals to other parts of the world to make money

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QUICK QUIZ
1. Why did zookeepers pair up a dog with cheetah cub Rozi?
2. What type of dog is Ziggy?
3. What does the name Rozi mean?
4. At what age will Rozi be ready to live on her own?
5. How many cheetahs are thought to be left in the wild?

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CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. Sibling love
If you are lucky enough to have a sibling, take a minute for yourself to think about the best learning or life lessons that having a sibling has taught you (positive or negative). Sometimes siblings teach you things adults can’t, and you’ll reflect on this more as you get older.

Try to think deeper than surface level about this question, and even if you don’t get along all the time, look at the benefits of siblings. Share with a classmate if you feel comfortable.

My sibling/s have taught me the following:

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Time: allow 15 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Personal and Social, Critical and Creative Thinking

2. Extension
Name all the different roles that different dogs take on to support humans and animals;

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Time: allow 10 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Personal and Social, Critical and Creative Thinking

VCOP ACTIVITY
Read this!
A headline on an article – or a title on your text – should capture the attention of the audience, telling them to read this now. So choosing the perfect words for a headline or title is very important.

Create three new headlines for the events that took place in this article. Remember, what you write and how you write it will set the pace for the whole text, so make sure it matches.

Read out your headlines to a partner and discuss what the article will be about based on the headline you created. Discuss the tone and mood you set in just your few, short words. Does it do the article justice? Will it capture the audience’s attention the way you hoped? Would you want to read more?

Consider how a headline or title is similar to using short, sharp sentences throughout your text. They can be just as important as complex ones. Go through the last text you wrote and highlight any short, sharp sentences that capture the audience.