Last year, Tama Zoo used funds from its zoo supporter program to purchase one scale each for its Cheetah and Serval. Thank you to all our zoo supporters!


Purchased weighing scale
Of the three feline species (Lion, Cheetah, and Serval) kept in African Zone, Lion enclosure has a scale embedded in part of the animal passageway called a chute, and we have been able to regularly measure their weight. However, Cheetah and Serval enclosures do not have such equipment, and we have only been able to measure their weight when they are under anesthesia or in transport crates, such as when they are receiving vaccinations, health checkups, or treatments.

While judging an animal's condition based on its body shape is important for proper animal care and management, external appearance is inherently subjective, and standards and judgments can vary among caretakers. Therefore, in addition to judging by body shape, it is also important to understand an animal's condition using its weight. For a limited time, we plan to install an explanation of body shape assessment on a bulletin board next to Serval exhibit. We hope this will be helpful as a guide for your animal observations.

The weighing scale arrived in the fall of 2024, and we started by weighing Serval. Serval had previously been trained to stay lying down near the bars in her sleeping area, so she was wary of the scale at first, but she got used to it and was able to step on it smoothly. Now, we regularly weigh all of our cats.


Serval weight measurement
Cheetah began practicing getting used to the weighing scale this spring. Bastet (female), who arrived from the United States in 2023, had experience with blood sampling training in her home country, and we are continuing to work with her on blood sampling and vaccination training as well.

I had high hopes that this particular animal would be the easiest to weigh, so I tried it first. I expected that it wouldn't get on the scale on the first try because it's a very wary animal, but it did get on the scale lying down, albeit somewhat cautiously, and I was able to weigh it much more smoothly than I expected.


Cheetah weight measurement
Next, with high hopes, we tried with the second dog. Except for the one we successfully weighed, none of them had been trained to maintain a prone position, so although they approached the scale, they couldn't stay on it. After continuing to practice, including training them to maintain a prone position, we are now able to weigh 4 out of 9 dogs.

While we can't generalize since we haven't been able to test it on all individuals, so far, females tend to approach the scale with curiosity and without much hesitation, even on their first time, while males tend to be more cautious, either staying away or approaching cautiously. I was surprised to see such a difference between males and females, and found it very interesting.

It will still take some time, but our goal is to regularly weigh Cheetah, and we will proceed at the animals' pace.

[Tama Zoo, Tama Zoological Park]

(June 13, 2025)