Meet our Cheetahs

Our Female Cheetahs

Fiela

Fiela was the reason Cheetah Experience started, and the first cheetah ever at Cheetah Experience!

Fiela unfortunately suffered from kidney failure and passed away on the 7th of February 2019. She will be forever in our hearts and is missed terribly every day.

Today, the cheetah’s survival is threatened and the species is now becoming one of Africa’s most endangered “big cats”. Cheetahs are classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red list. It is estimated that only around 7,100 cheetahs remain in the wild. This is a huge drop from the 14,000 estimated in 1975 and 100,000 estimated in 1900.

Juno

Hello I’m Juno!

I’m one of the younger cheetahs at Cheetah Experience. My friends always say I have really dark fur and piercing eyes, just like my Dad, Apollo. I’m also super fast, and you might find me running in the field at the farm, or chasing around my best friend Neo.

At top speed, the length of a stride of a cheetah is approximately 7 metres. We have very long and strong back legs to quickly gain speed.

Neo

Hi I’m Neo!

I’m one of the younger cheetahs at Cheetah Experience, and my best friend is Juno! I’m a very loving cheetah, and have a very playful nature! But I’m also very easy to fall in love with. My friends say I have a fuzzy teddy bear like face!

In Central Iran only about 50 Asiatic cheetahs remain in the wild with numbers fast declining. Researchers and conservationists are trying to protect the small number remaining but it is feared that they are acting too late.

Bijoux

Hi I’m Bijoux!

I am a bit shy at first but it is definitely worth spending time with me, as I do tend to open up after a while and might even come over for cuddles! I’m rather small, which apparently makes me really cute.

Sahara

Hi I’m Sahara!

My best friend is everybody! I’m the loudest purring cheetah at the project, and you can often hear my purr before you can see me. I love saying hello to everyone that walks past my home, and watching all of the cheetahs in the other enclosures.

Love

Hi I’m Love!

I am smaller than most cheetahs but people say that's what makes me very cute. I have the sweetest personality and will always come over for a kiss or a cuddle.

When cheetahs run, we use our tails as rudders to make a 90º turn at top speed.

Faith

Hi I’m Faith!

I’m a really special cheetah, having survived meningitis at a young age, being one of two cheetahs in the world who have survived this disease. Through the love of the staff and many months of rehabilitation, I got my ability to walk again, but people do say I walk a bit funny. But I can run perfectly fine which is quite amazing!

Princess

Hi I’m Princess!

I am one of the youngest females at the project. I am living with my friend Ariel and you can always find us together, either playing, cuddling or running around. I have a soccer ball in my camp and I love to chase it when you throw it around for me.

Ranee

Hi I’m Ranee!

I like my personal space and prefer to spend my time with my friend Jeremiah, whom I'm sharing my enclosure with. We were born around the same time and raised together and now we are the best of friends.

Joyce

Hello I am Joyce!

I was born at Cheetah Experience in 2016. My mum Abby was rushed in for a caesarean section after a prolonged labour. I was born with breathing difficulties, and the staff worked very hard to help warm me up and get me breathing properly.

Amazingly, I survived. I have a strong personality but I love people and will often come to the fence to give you a purr.

Iris & Topaz

Hello we’re Iris and Topaz!

Iris was born at another project and came to Cheetah Experience in 2019 to help diversify the bloodlines of cheetahs between the breeding projects. Topaz was born at Cheetah Experience around the same time, so the staff decided to raise them together. Today, they have grown into beautiful ladies that are inseparable and always found together.

The black tear mark on a cheetahs face is designed to absorb the sunlight when hunting and is unique to every cheetah like a fingerprint to a human.

Our Male Cheetahs

Joseph

Hello I’m Joseph,

I am currently one of the older males at Cheetah Experience. I came from a different project but that doesn't make me any less affectionate. You'll always hear me purr when you walk past!

Cheetahs have large nostrils and lungs which provide quick air intake; we also have a large liver, heart and adrenals which help facilitate a rapid physical response.

Blitz

Hi I’m Blitz,

I am a very handsome male who arrived in 2021 from a facility outside of Bela Bela that had to close due to Covid. I am now living at Cheetah Experience and will help diversify the bloodlines of cheetahs born at this project.

Cheetahs have special paw pads and semi-retractable claws that provide great traction when we start running and change direction.

Jeremiah

Hi I’m Jeremiah!

I am a young male cheetah at Cheetah Experience, and make a lot of people laugh with the silly things I do. I share my enclosure with my friend Ranee and we are inseparable.

Cheetahs have amazing eyesight, and can see up to 5km away on a clear day.

Zeus & Noah

Hello we’re Zeus and Noah!

We are two of the sweetest friends you will ever meet, and are always together and watching out for each other, even when eating we like to eat close to each other. We love playing with each other, and are an example of a successful male cheetah coalition.

Male cheetahs live in coalitions of about 2-4 adults, while females are mostly solitary. We use these coalitions to make it easier to hunt.

Duke & David

Hello we're Duke and David!

We were born by caesarean section on the day that Cheetah Experience moved the cheetahs from Bloemfontein to Bela Bela. Our mum Juno was taken to Onderstepoort veterinary hospital on the way and Riana stayed by her side throughout the surgery.

We will be released at some point in the future when we are old enough.

The black tear mark on a cheetahs face is designed to absorb the sunlight when hunting and is unique to every cheetah like a fingerprint to a human.

Kenji

Hello I’m Kenji!

I’m a male cheetah, and my mum is Jesse. I was the only cub born in the litter, and my mum wasn’t able to continue providing sufficient milk for me to put on weight, so I had to be hand raised. For a while, I lived with the caracals Jupiter, Mercury, Saturn and the servals Lyra and Vega, but when I began to outgrow them I moved to a bigger enclosure.

Cheetahs live about 8 years in the wild, and live on average to about 15 years in captivity.

Meet our other friends >