Cheetah Passes 'Speed Test' With Flying Colors at Wildlife Center
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A cheetah housed at a wildlife rehabilitation center close to Hoedspruit, South Africa, got into its stride during a “speed test”, footage from YouTube shows.
Video posted by Gosia Zdziechowska on her Polish Dr Dolittle YouTube channel shows the cheetah running down a dirt path at the Moholoholo Rehabilitation Centre, with Zdziechowska captioning the footage, “cheetah speed test”.
Speaking to Storyful, a spokesperson from the Moholoholo Rehabilitation Centre said that the cheetah in the footage is called Adara and that she is five years old.
The center takes in and works with “abandoned, injured and poisoned wildlife,” according to its website.
“She is one of our resident cheetahs at the sanctuary,” the spokesperson said. “We run them as often as possible for a number of reasons. Firstly as a form of exercise to mimic a chase in the wild. Secondly as a form of enrichment as it is a new environment and great stimulation of a natural behavior.”
The worker seen in the video, “is one of our full-time staff members who is trained in animal handling,” the spokesperson said, and is someone Adara has “bonded with”.
“We do not do any cheetah interaction for the public,” the spokesperson said. “All necessary safety protocols are taken when running our cheetahs.”
Zdziechowska, who’s from Poland, frequently travels to do volunteer work at wild animal rehabilitation centers and orphanages around the world, posting footage of her travels on her YouTube page. Credit: Polish Dr Dolittle via Storyful
