cheetah
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Dear Friend of the National Zoo:

Cheetahs are in a tight spot. Not so long ago, their range stretched from Africa through Central Asia and beyond. Today, fewer than 15,000 remain in isolated populations in Africa and Iran. And cheetahs in zoos face challenges, too. National Zoo scientists have discovered much to help cheetahs, but we need to do more to protect the future of these spotted cats. Donate now.

Help Connect the Dots

In October 2007, the Smithsonian’s National Zoo opened a new Cheetah Science Facility. This facility offers scientists unprecedented opportunities to study cheetahs. You can play a critical role in the success of our cheetah conservation program by helping us raise $300,000. With your support, the National Zoo can provide a brighter future for cheetahs by:

  • Increasing cheetah populations
  • Enhancing cheetah health  
  • Helping cheetahs everywhere
  • Creating conservation leaders

Learn more about our cheetah conservation program.

Improving Breeding Success

Donate now.The new nine-acre Cheetah Science Facility provides enclosures for up to a dozen cheetahs and their cubs. This increased capacity will offer many more options for pairing individual cheetahs for breeding, increasing the odds of breeding success and ultimately contributing to the population’s genetic diversity.

Also at the facility, our scientists will continue to study the medical, nutritional, and behavioral requirements of this species.

Zoo Scientists on the Move

The National Zoo has also created a Mobile Laboratory Research Team that shares its expertise and scientific equipment with zoos all over North America. This service unit provides training and support to overcome cheetah fertility and health problems. To date, the team has helped produce ten cheetah litters in North American zoos using artificial insemination.

A Leader in Cheetah Conservation

Since 1980, National Zoo scientists have studied cheetahs in Africa. Their research identified cheetahs’ many reproduction problems and unusual sensitivity to diseases. More recently, the Zoo has focused its work with the Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF) in Namibia. In this country, people largely see cheetahs as threats to farmers’ livestock. To change this perception, CCF, with the National Zoo’s help, is educating local people about the value of predators and conservation. Together, the Zoo and CCF are creating the next generation of cheetah conservationists.

With your help, the National Zoo can continue this important work. And when you give, you’ll also receive:

$500+

Recognition in the FONZ annual report and on the Zoo website, plus a highlights tour of the Zoo.

$1,000+

Benefits listed above, plus recognition for three years at an exhibit in the Visitor Center lobby about the Zoo’s conservation programs.

$2,500+ Benefits listed above, plus a VIP group tour of the National Zoo’s Cheetah Conservation Station led by a wildlife expert. Receive a limited-edition print of a cheetah paw print.*    

$5,000+

Benefits listed above, plus a VIP tour of the new Cheetah Science Facility at the Zoo’s Conservation and Research Center (CRC) in Front Royal, Virginia. Receive an original cheetah paw print and enrollment in the Director’s Circle. 
$10,000+ Benefits listed above, plus a chef-prepared picnic and overnight stay at CRC in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains.

Thanks to a generous grant from the Ferris Family Foundation, the first $50,000 raised for our cheetah conservation program will be matched dollar for dollar. So for every dollar you donate, an additional dollar will go toward cheetah conservation.

Help us keep the world’s fastest land mammal off the fast track to extinction. Support the National Zoo’s cheetah conservation program today. Donate now.

Sincerely,
Robert J. Lamb
Director, Friends of the National Zoo

P.S. Learn more about the Zoo’s efforts to save cheetahs.

* Paw prints will not be available until 2008.

Questions? Contact Sarah Speer at 202.633.3044.

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