Last week, our cheetahs visited the Sam Houston Race Park to stretch their legs and chase a custom-made lure. Over the past few months, the cheetahs have made multiple trips to the race park, walking on leashes to become familiar with the park and its surroundings. Last week was the second time that Kito & Kiburi ran on the grass track off of their leashes.
In our special video, Beth Schaefer, the Houston Zoo’s curator of primates and carnivores, explains the importance of providing this exercise as a means of enrichment and benefit to the health of the animals.
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Do you allow spectators when the cheetahs run at Sam Houston race track? I LOVE cheetahs and would be thrilled to attend the next outing!
Hi Leanah,
As of right now, we don’t allow spectators at the track during the cheetah run. Thanks!
I saw the cheetah’s run in the Houston chron online and think this is wonderful. I would love to see a slow-mo video of their strides and see the stopwatch times for their “races,” even if they don’t get up to 60 mph. Like many people, I sometimes feel uncomfortable at zoos and worry that although the animals are well fed, they are bored or depressed. Stories like this reassure me. I hope you can find other stadiums/ facilities that will let you run the cheetahs while the race course is in use.