Savannah Tracks

RADIO 1 DJ SCOTT MILLS SEES SPOTS AT MARWELL WILDLIFE

Southampton-born BBC Radio 1 DJ Scott Mills officially opened Savannah Tracks.

Scott was thrilled to help the keepers feed our three cheetahs, Turkus, Juba and Suki, commenting: “I’m delighted to be here to open Savannah Tracks. I used to visit Marwell frequently when a child so was really pleased to be asked back.”

The cheetahs were out exploring their new terrain and showing off their spots to Scott. With various resting spots including large boulders and shady areas to relax, Savannah Tracks is double the size of their previous home and mimics the conditions found in the cheetah’s natural habitat of the open savannah in Africa. Visitors to the zoological park can now watch the cheetahs from a new wooden walkway, which meanders through Savannah Tracks, leading up to an undercover viewing platform.

Scott, a keen runner, was also put through his paces by children from Fair Oak Infant School on Marwell’s specially built cheetah running track. The track, along with lots of other fun children’s activities will be open during the upcoming Easter holidays.

Savannah Tracks was only possible due to our generous supporters who donated to SPRINT, our cheetah campaign. This funding also enables us to continue our cheetah conservation work in Africa which includes: tracking wild cheetahs to better understand their movements and working with farmers and local communities in Zimbabwe, plus researching cheetah populations in Kenya and Niger.

Loss of natural habitat to persecution and illegal trapping are just a few of the many problems which threaten the continued survival of wild cheetahs. With less than 10,000 in the wild, the World Conservation Union (IUCN) lists the species as vulnerable.

Video of Savannah Tracks - Watch the video on our youtube channel.

Video created by Emma Stock