New cheetah exhibit with behind-the-scenes tour area now open at the Sacramento Zoo
The Sacramento Zoo announced a new exhibit featuring cheetah brothers Rowdy and Zig Zag will be open for visitors starting Friday.
The cheetah exhibit is in the zoo’s former Australia habitat, which received upgrades before the cheetahs arrived in Sacramento. Those upgrades include green grass, heating elements under their arched shade structures and a glass panel for up-close viewing, according to a Wednesday news release from the zoo.
The upgrades also include a behind-the-scenes area that will allow specially designed tours for guests to learn more about the felines.
The cheetahs arrived from Wildlife Safari in Winston, Oregon, on April 11, accompanied by a team of Sac Zoo staff on their trip to California. Zoo officials said the cheetahs were given nearly a week to settle into their new surroundings outside of the exhibit and for the zoo’s animal care and health staff to begin working on a cheetah husbandry and welfare program. This week, the cheetahs were allowed to enter their new exhibit.
Cheetahs’ slender bodies allow them to accelerate to 45 mph in just 2.5 seconds, making them the fastest land mammals who can reach top speeds of 60 to 70 mph, zoo officials said. The animals, native to the African savanna, are vulnerable to extinction due to loss of habitat and numerous other human-related activities, zoo officials said.
All admission tickets must be reserved in advance online through the Sacramento Zoo’s website. No tickets are sold at the door.
This story was originally published April 22, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
