National Zoo Names Cheetah Cubs After U.S. Sprinters

By Bill Chappell

Published August 7, 2012 at 9:32 AM CDT

<strong>The Cheetahs In Question:</strong> Two three-month-old cheetah cubs play during their first week of being on public view at the National Zoo. The animals were named after U.S. track stars Justin Gatlin and Carmelita Jeter. But like even the smallest of felines, there is precious little chance they will ever show even a flicker of recognition upon hearing their name called. — **The Cheetahs In Question:** Two three-month-old cheetah cubs play during their first week of being on public view at the National Zoo. The animals were named after U.S. track stars Justin Gatlin and Carmelita Jeter. But like even the smallest of felines, there is precious little chance they will ever show even a flicker of recognition upon hearing their name called.

Two cheetah cubs whose cuteness recently landed them on Facebook and Tumblr pages around the Internet have been named after U.S. Olympians competing in London.

Presumably, it was the cheetahs' fabled speed, not cuteness, that inspired officials at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., to name them Carmelita and Justin, after sprinters Carmelita Jeter and Justin Gatlin.

The three-month-old felines' namesakes won silver (Jeter) and bronze (Gatlin) medals in the 100-meter sprint at the Summer Games.

As the AP reports: "Cheetahs are the fastest animals on land. Scientists say every surviving cub is critical to saving the species, which is threatened with extinction in the wild. Carmelita and Justin are genetically valuable because their mother and father were first-time parents. They were born in April at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Virginia."

Researchers were not asked about the likelihood, considered infinitesimal by even casual observers, that the two animals would ever answer to their names — much less showcase their world-class speed in responding to being called. After all, at the end of the day, they're still cats.