Goodbye Bajrami, our beloved Southern cheetah.

It is with huge sadness we inform you that we have had to say goodbye to Bajrami, the last of our three cheetah brothers.  He was put to sleep on Wednesday 2nd February after his health had started to decline.

Bajrami came to the sanctuary with his two brothers, Martin and Keene, in the summer of 2014 after living at Paradise Wildlife Park.  Although smaller in stature than his two brothers, Bajrami was arguably the most striking of the three.  In his prime, his dark coat with an impressive long mantle of fur on his shoulders and the way he hung his broad head low when he walked made Bajrami look so powerful and even at times a little intimidating. His personality though, was easily the most mellow of the three.

Bajrami, known as ‘B’ to his keepers, was a very relaxed character. He took everything in his stride, and took his own sweet time to do anything, ironic for a cat who has a DSTecheetah race car named after him.  He was calm and focussed in training sessions, and would come into the training area each week to be weighed, calmly, slowly, and oh so gently moving around and onto the weighing scales for his treats, allowing his keepers to monitor his body condition.  Then, when the treats ran out, just as gently he would wander back outside to lie in the grass or in his outside shelter if the weather wasn’t being kind.

In 2017 Bajrami moved to Wingham Wildlife Park to be paired with a female and became a father, the only one of the three brothers to father cubs. This pairing resulted in our beautiful Willow, Bajrami’s daughter, who is still thriving at the sanctuary today.  Although Willow differs from her father in personality, she really is her father’s daughter when it comes to looks.  She has his compact frame, his strong square head shape and is beautifully vocal, just like her dad.

Bajrami would have been twelve years old this month, a grand age for a cheetah, and his health has been under close review for a while. Historical health issues which had once been manageable were becoming less so, and were beginning to take their toll on our beloved ‘B’.  It was decided in consultation with Dr Nic Masters, our fantastic vet, that it was the best thing for Bajrami to be put to rest.

We will be forever grateful that not only have his intense good looks been immortalised in the stunning photographic series ‘Big cats by Perou’, but Bajrami will live on in his beautiful and vibrant daughter, Willow.

The Big Cat Sanctuary Team