Run, run, run away: Cheetahs and their exhibits in zoos.

Cheetahs are cool and much loved because they are the fastest land animals on the planet, sleek and lovely, and cheetah cubs rock splendid punk rock manes.

Unlike most big cats where there are still many dumpy exhibits out there, I haven't seen anybody complaining about bad cheetah exhibits. Is it possible that all cheetahs in zoos have decent exhibits?

Based on the cheetah exhibits that I've seen and photos here on Zoochat there seem to be two basic cheetah exhibit models:
1. A large fenced in grassy area (e.g., Omaha, Indianapolis, Dallas, Denver)
2. An "island" of hills and vegetation surrounded by a dry moat (e.g., San Diego, Living Desert)

Are there any other models of cheetah exhibits out there?

I've heard many zoo visitors looking at cheetahs and wanting to see them run. The San Diego Safari Park and Busch Gardens in Florida have shows where they let their cheetahs run after lures. Is this practice spreading in the zoo world? I imagine that it takes a lot of land space and staff time that most zoos would be reluctant or unable to provide, but does this seem like an enrichment that will be required for cheetah husbandry standards at some point?

Cheetahs were at least at one time famous for not breeding in zoos. San Diego has an entire cheetah breeding complex that is off-exhibit and a completely different display exhibit. Is this the case for most or all zoos that both display and breed cheetahs, or are there some exhibits that have managed to do both?

Finally, does anybody have any cool stories of seeing cheetahs in the wild?

 

Just for the record, Cincinnati also has a cheetah running demonstration.

 

I agree that cheetahs seem to get better exhibits than most cat. I went to the Central Florida Zoo this year and their cheetah exhibit was by far the best at the zoo.
I think some zoo's have cheetahs off exhibit like Columbus because the zoos can use them as animal ambassadors. At Columbus they took one of their two cheetahs on stage with a dog and were talking about how they give dogs to sheephearders in Africa to keep cheetahs away so the farmers do not shoot them.
Out of the 3 cheetah exhibits I saw this summer I would rank them Toronto, Disney, Busch Gardens, Central Florida.

 

Busch Gardens has a cheetah run exhibit.
Other zoos are making plans.

 

Werribee Zoo just outside Melbourne in Australia has a really cool exhibit.

 

I could provide a long list of great cheetah exhibits in American zoos and I think that cheetahs are arguably the #1 big cat when it comes to high quality habitats. One thing that I've seen at a couple of zoos is a short race-track alongside a cheetah exhibit and visitors can pay a small fee (about 50 cents) to see how fast they can run in comparison to such speedy critters. Indianapolis Zoo has a very nicely designed track that seemed extremely popular on my 2012 visit, plus there are 2 fairly new cheetah exhibits at that zoo for an all-around great experience.

 

While a few zoos have managed to breed in their exhibits, cheetahs typically require a special breeding setup. This entails an off-exhibit and quiet area and a large group where the female can be shown a few different males to choose whom she will like. Recognizing this, the AZA has designated five official cheetah breeding centers (I think - someone correct me if I am wrong). These are used to provide display animals for the public exhibit spaces in AZA facilities around the country. Here are those five:

San Diego Safari Park (behind a hill beyond public area)
Front Royal Conservation Center (a large, private facility in Virginia operated by the Smithsonian National Zoo)
Cincinnati Zoo Mast Farm (a private breeding center in a rural area just outside Cincinnati that is managed by the zoo)
Fossil Rim Wildlife Center (has a private breeding area as well as a long series of big yards on the public drive thru)
The Wilds (I think their large exhibits are visible to the public in a walking part in the middle of the tour)

 

Thanks for the info on the breeding situation, AZD.
Where is/are you favorite cheetah exhibit(s)?

 

Wildlife Safari in Oregon has produced 168 cheetah cubs since 1972, and it is an AZA-accredited facility. Is there any other zoo in North America that has bred more cheetahs?

Cheetah Breeding Program Link:

Wildlife Safari - Winston Oregon

Also, White Oak Conservation Center in northern Florida has had great success in maintaining and breeding cheetahs in captivity.

 

Phoenix Zoo. Used to have two side by side cheetah exhibits, both of which are very similar looking and quite good, but now the one on the left has african wild dogs and only the right side has cheetahs. Back when they had more cheetahs they did produce a couple litters of cubs, but it looks like those days are over.

As has been previously stated, cheetahs overall have it much nicer than other cats in US zoos.

Chester Zoo in England is pretty nice too, with the added bonus of having northern cheetahs instead of the southern cheetahs that are found across the US (and in zoos around the world). Although honestly, even to a cat aficionado like me, they look identical.

 

hello everybody.
is by any chance someone knows zoos in europe with cheetah?
i will be more than happy to find out one at list.
thanks
estuki1950

 

I didn't realize that there were Sudanese cheetahs in zoos, or that this was a distinct subspecies.

North American cheetah fans: do we have this subspecies in any American zoos?

 

Has anybody had any good cheetah sightings in the wild, like hunting behavior? I saw a couple cheetahs wandering around in the Masai Mara and one up in Laikpia in Kenya, but no hunting.

 

Thanks for the info TLD.

 

Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Arizona Docent mention a few weeks ago that there were now only two sub-species, African and Asian cheetah?

 

There is even some debate as to whether even this splitting is valid and all Cheetahs are monotypic.