With Cheetah Hunt and Cheetah Run coming to Busch Gardens Tampa this spring, the park is expected to get a few new residents. Now guests who book the Endangered Species Tour will now get a close look at the endangered cats on the 45 minute tour.
The official press release from Busch Gardens:
Guests who experience Busch Gardens’ popular Endangered Species Safari this spring will have the opportunity to meet some very special members of the adventure park’s animal collection.
Five cheetahs recently arrived at the park in accordance with the international cheetah Species Survival Plan. Next spring, Steelman, a 12-year-old male, Ngoma, a 10-year-old female, and littermates Jagati, Iraja and Juno – all born in October 2009 – will be part of Cheetah Run, the innovative new habitat opening alongside the Cheetah Hunt launch coaster that will bring guests face to face with these agile predators and teach them about cheetahs’ plight in the wild.
During the Endangered Species Safari encounter, guests will learn that while these five cats came from the White Oak Conservation Center in Jacksonville, FL, their wild cousins are highly endangered. There are less than 10,000 cheetahs left in the world, and repopulation is made difficult by low birth rates and many natural and man-made threats to their survival.
Busch Gardens’ zoo educators will also talk about the efforts of the SeaWorld & Busch Gardens Conservation Fund, which has donated almost $100,000 to cheetah efforts in Africa since 2005 and also helps fund conservation programs for white rhinos, marine animals and many other species around the world.
The 45-minute Endangered Species Safari also includes up-close encounters with giraffes, zebra and rhinos on the 65-acre Serengeti Plain. The experience is $39.95 per person, plus tax, and park admission is required, but not included.
The tour was a great deal before, and took you close to Rhinos and gave you the chance to feed a Giraffe from the back of a flatbed truck. Add in the chance to see the world’s fastest land animal, and the tour gets even better. Highly recommend it.
To Hunt for your own Cheetahs(with your camera), book the Endangered Species Tour.
