CZS are saddened to report the loss of Abasi the cheetah
Having been at Colchester Zoological Society for 7 years cheetah, Abasi, was truly part of the CZS family and was much loved by both staff and visitors therefore it is with a heavy heart to report that Abasi, passed away on Thursday 7th August 2025.
Two weeks prior to Abasi passing away the Animal Care Team had noticed he was not quite himself, therefore the veterinary team took blood samples and carried out a full physical examination. Following on from this Abasi continued to be monitored closely whilst under veterinary care and receiving the relevant medicinal treatments. We suspect that the cause of his passing can be attributed to kidney disease, but a definitive cause has not yet been identified. We hope to have confirmation once we receive full postmortem results.
Abasi was born at Safari de Peaugres, France in June 2016 and arrived at CZS in 2018 along with his brother Azizi. In 2020, Abasi became a first-time dad with our previous female, Sia, and welcomed the arrival of four healthy cubs, Nova, Hope, Star and Colonel Tom, who have since transferred to other conservation centres to start families of their own and contribute to the breeding programme for the conservation of this species.
Our thoughts are with all of our Animal Care Team who have had the pleasure of working with him during his time at CZS, we know he will be greatly missed.
“As keepers we probably shouldn’t have favourites but Abasi has always held a special place in my heart. I would look forward to walking down to his habitat to check on him each morning and he would often greet me by rolling in the bark and rubbing his cheeks. Over my time spent caring for Abasi, I felt that we had created a special bond and I will miss those moments very much.
He will be remembered by the team as being the ‘chatty cat’, often making bird-like calls to his brother, Azizi, and a low purr to call Anika, the female. When being introduced to Anika in the hope of breeding success, he was always the perfect gentleman – persistent but polite!
Abasi will be deeply missed by all of the CZS Animal Care Team, both past and present, that have had the privilege of caring for him.”
Laura Lamb, Team Leader of Africa Section at CZS
Abasi’s brother, Azizi, is currently living at the Edge of Africa habitat and female cheetah, Anika, is opposite Dragons of Komodo. We have no doubt that Azizi will miss his brother, but the Animal Care Team will continue to closely monitor his behaviour over the coming weeks. We hope that in time, we will be able to reintroduce Azizi to resident female, Anika, and eventually become a successful breeding pair assisting the conservation of their species that are currently listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List.
We would like to thank everyone for their support during this difficult time.
