Monday, October 27, 2008

In this occasional Page Three feature, photographer Joe Elbert uses a camera to show you inside Washington's National Zoo. You can see his videos at http://washingtonpost.com/zootales.

Do you recognize this collection of names: Draco, Granger and Zabini?

They're characters from the Harry Potter series of novels by J.K. Rowling, and the names were given to animals that are almost magically fast: three cheetahs at the National Zoo's Cheetah Conservation Station. The brothers and a female cheetah named Amani each weigh from 104 to 110 pounds. Cheetahs are the world's fastest land animal.

Amani, a 2-year old, came to the zoo late last year from Wildlife Safari, an animal park in Oregon. The brothers, born in 2005, came to the zoo in April 2007 from White Oak Conservation Center in Florida.

Here are some facts from the Cheetah Conservation Station:

· Cheetahs reach speeds of up to 64 mph. They are natural sprinters, able to accelerate to 45 mph in 2.5 seconds.

· Most big cats ambush their prey, but cheetahs use their incredible speed to catch animals such as gazelles, antelopes and wart hogs. About half of these chases result in a kill.

· Most cheetahs live in the grasslands and open plains of sub-Saharan Africa, and a small group lives in Iran. Although they live in hot, dry climates, cheetahs don't need to drink water because they get hydration from the bodies of their prey.

· Cheetahs are distinguished not by their spots but by the unique pattern of rings on their tails.

· Cheetahs cannot roar, but they do make a birdlike sound called a "chirrup" when excited; mothers also make this sound to call their cubs. Cheetahs also purr, growl and hiss, and during mating season they make a distinctive sound researchers have dubbed a "stutter bark."

· Male cheetahs, often brothers, live together in small groups, while females are solitary.

· Cheetahs are an endangered species that the National Zoo is working to protect in Africa and in North American zoos. The Cheetah Conservation Station opened in 1992.