The Cheetah Foundation Selects Tanganyika Wildlife Park as a Primary Cheetah Breeding Facility

By Matt Fouts

Goddard, KS - Tanganyika Wildlife Park has been awarded one of the greatest honors any wildlife facility or zoo can have: the opportunity to breed one of the world’s most endangered cats, the cheetah. Tanganyika was selected by The Cheetah Foundation, an international 501(c)3, and the Species Survival Fund as the primary breeding facility for the global project.

The Cheetah Foundation has actively worked to reintroduce and establish a viable population of cheetah in the Free State of South Africa. The plight of the cheetah can be traced to a dramatic climatic change 5,000 years ago that nearly wiped out the entire population. As a result, all cheetahs are very closely related, which has made them very fragile genetically. In addition, the cheetah faces fierce competition from other larger carnivores such as lions and hyenas as their territories continue to dwindle. As a result, it is estimated only 5% of cheetah cubs survive to adulthood in the wild. In fact, there are no wild cheetah in the Free State of South Africa, an area they used to thrive.

The proposed cheetah facility will cost approximately $600,000 and will house over ten cheetahs. The facility will be comprised of multiple breeding pens and a 600 foot cheetah run that will allow visitors to watch the cheetah go from 0 to 70 in approximately 3 seconds. It would only be the 3rd such exhibit in the United States.

Anyone interested in donating to this cause and/or sponsoring the exhibit is welcome to call Matt Fouts for more information.

Tanganyika Wildlife Park is an organization dedicated to the conservation of endangered and exotic species. The Park has been operating since 1986 and first opened to the public August 2nd, 2008. Tanganyika Wildlife Park is West of 183rd St W on Maple. The Park’s hours are 9:00-5:00 daily. For more information on the Park, please visit www.twpark.com.

To view Tanganyika Wildlife Park's web page on Zoo and Aquarium Visitor, go to:  http://www.zandavisitor.com/forumtopicdetail-775-Tanganyika_Wildlife_Park