A Pet for a Pet?

Humans, like most animals, have a survival instinct. When we’re in danger, our adrenaline kicks in and we often go into “flight or fight” mode — we get a boost of energy that helps us run away or stand our ground, a decision which is often guided by the situation and our disposition. And we’re not alone in that regard. Many species react the same way, and in some cases extremely so. Cheetahs, for example, are famous for their speed — they’re the fastest land animal — and, when threatened, use that speed to evade harm.

In the wild, that’s great. But when cheetahs are in captivity — say, in a zoo — that’s a problem. As National Geographic explains, “built for flight rather than fight, as they grow older the [cheetahs] are always on edge—eyes out for lurking predators—and ready to leap into action with incredible bursts of speed. In a zoo setting, such nervous energy has nowhere to go.”

So how do you calm down a jittery zoo cheetah? Get them a pet dog.

In 2015, the Metro Richmond Zoo in Virginia did exactly that. Meet Kumbali, below left, and Kago:

Kumbali, as you can see, is a cheetah — a baby at the time that picture was taken. Kago is clearly not; he’s a dog (a Labrador mix). As the zoo explains, when Kumbali was only two weeks old, zoo caretakers noticed he wasn’t gaining weight. His mother, it turned out, wasn’t producing enough milk to provide for Kumbali and his entire litter of siblings, so the zoo removed him from his family and raised him by hand, feeding him bottles. But that caused a new problem. Per the zoo: “despite their anxious habits, male cheetahs are social animals. In the wild, they form coalitions with other males — usually their brothers. Kumbali was in need of a companion — and not of the human sorts.”

Kago became that solution. It wasn’t a groundbreaking pairing, either. As Metro Richmond Zoo explains in an adorable video, “dogs have been used for companion animals for cheetahs for over thirty years. The dog provides a calming influence for the cheetah by giving him behavior cues. Dogs are less fearful of new surroundings and embrace them with confidence. That calmness helps the cheetah remain calm as well.” (And really, watch that video when you get a chance — the last couple of minutes are just them playing. It’s a great video to start a day!)

Cats and dogs rarely get along — and to be clear, Kumbali and Kago would never have found each other in the wild. But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t work out in the end. It turns out that the bond between cheetahs and their canine friends typically last for life. In May 2025, roughly ten years after they first met, Kumbali and Kago were still spending their days together.

Bonus fact: Cheetahs aren’t the only animals that enjoy having a Labrador around. In 2007, Bubbles, an elephant, was living at Myrtle Beach Safari, a wildlife reserve in South Carolina. He needed a bigger habitat so the reserve hired a contractor to build him a pool, and the contractor showed up with a dog named Bella. As ABC News reported, the contractor abandoned Bella, so the zoo adopted her and let her play in Bubbles’ habitat. The two, as of 2013, played with each other regularly, as seen in this also-adorable video.

From the Archives: Getting the Horse’s Goat: How and why goats befriend racehorses.