Cheetah Run
PLEASE NOTE: THE CHEETAH RUN WILL NOT BE TAKING PLACE IN THE PARK FROM THE 30TH OF JUNE FOR THREE WEEKS WHILST UPGRADING OF THE FACILITY IS CARRIED OUT. APOLOGIES FOR ANY INCONVENIENCE CAUSED.
Cheetah Run (Daily at 4pm)
When people think of cheetahs they think of speed, imagining these cats racing across the African savannahs. Now at Fota Wildlife Park you can get a glimpse of this speed in action during the daily Cheetah Run.
Wild cheetahs reach speeds of about 100kph for about 20 seconds while they are hunting, so it is very fitting that our cheetahs work for their dinner. Whole (dead) chickens or rabbits are tied to a rope suspended from an overhead cable. The cats then chase and catch their meal as it zips back and forth from one end of the pen to the other. Although the cheetahs here at Fota don't reach 100kph, they get a good workout and a great deal of fun with this exercise. It is also entertaining for our visitors who get a glimpse of what cheetahs are capable of.
The Cheetah Run here at Fota is the first in Ireland. Only a few other runs exist, some found in Austrian and American zoos. It is becoming more common for zoos to entertain or ‘enrich' their animals by providing them with natural activities that keep them fit and healthy. You should expect to see cheetah runs become more popular at zoos worldwide in the future.
You can listen to wildlife talks at 3:50pm (in the summer months) that introduce visitors to Fota's cheetahs and explains the lifestyle of wild cheetahs and the problems that threaten them with extinction. Afterward the Cheetah Run takes place daily at 4:00pm (weather permitting).
The Cheetah Run is sponsored by O'Flynn Construction
