Posted: July 29, 2011, 3 a.m. EDT
Cheetahs will have room to run in a new habitat at Busch Gardens in Florida. |
Busch Gardens Cheetah Run has opened in Tampa, Fla., with 14 of the lightening fast big cats. The new 11,000-square-foot habitat features grassland, natural rock formations, shaded alcoves, a waterfall and a 220-foot path where
cheetahs can run.
Visitors to Busch Gardens can view the big cats through glass-panel viewing windows. With just 9,000 to 12,000
cheetahs left in the wild, the new exhibit gives people a rare opportunity to see the world's fastest land mammal.
Cheetah Run opens along with the park's latest roller coaster, Cheetah Hunt. Cheetah Hunt is Busch Gardens' longest roller coaster and travels as fast as 60 miles per hour. Park representatives say the coaster was inspired by the
cheetah's record-setting speed.
Video panels and interactive touch-screen stations educate visitors of the plight of cheetahs. Guests learn about Busch Gardens' partnership with the Cheetah Conservation Fund in South Africa. Busch Gardens is a long-time supporter of cheetah conservation and research through the SeaWorld & Busch Gardens Conservation Fund. Cheetah Hunt and Cheetah Run are part of Busch Gardens Tampa Bay's goal to be one of North America's premier zoological institutions, park representatives say.
Another new feature that is set to open at Busch Gardens is the Animal Care & Nutrition Center, where visitors can watch animal caretakers feed and tend to park animals. Observers could see big cat checkups and surgery. The facility will be almost 16,000 square feet in size and is set to open in winter.