OUT OF AFRICA AUGUST Bank Holiday 24, 25

This interactive event promises to be an exciting day out as visitors will see a cheetah hunting with vultures and birds of prey.

Programme of Events:
Introduction explaining how and why the birds and mammals were trained.

First Eagle to be flown will be “Annie” The Fish Eagle. She is approximately 14 years old and has been doing shows for 8 years. She will be flown from perches and props close to members of the public to ensure a good view for all. She will snatch her food from “Lake Inferior” and hunt down an artificial flamingo. African Fish Eagles hunt mainly fish which is why it is important to show the natural methods. Flamingos are hunted in a special way.

The Lanner Falcon comes out to chase her lure, which is a leather pad with food tied to it. This represents the prey that the falcon would chase in the wild. Visitors will observe a high speed display of up to 100mph as she hunts down the falconer’s lure. Once she hits the lure with her talons she is given it immediately as at that speed in the wild the other bird would be knocked out of the sky.

The star of the show “Boomani” the hand-reared male cheetah will make his entrance. Cheetahs are the fastest land animal in the world designed to run in short bursts up to 460m (500 yards), and have the ability to accelerate from 0 to 110km/h (68 mph) in 3 seconds (faster than most super cars!) Adaptations that allow the Cheetah to do this include large nostrils that allow for increased oxygen intake, and an enlarged heart and lungs that work together to circulate oxygen efficiently.
During a typical chase its respiratory rate increases from 60 to 50 breaths per minute. While running, in addition to having good traction due to it’s semi-retractable claws, the cheetah uses it’s tail as a rudder-like means of steering to allow it to make sharp turns, necessary to outflank prey that often make such turns to escape.

Boomani has been specially trained to run down a zip line after an artificial Gazelle keeping the chase as close to the wild as possible. Once he has caught the “gazelle” he eats a piece of food and returns to our vehicle.

When Boormani leaves the arena White-Backed Vultures and scavenging Eagles will come to dine! All of scavengers come from the same part of Africa as the cheetah and will behave as they would in the wild. When the vultures have finished the remains of the food there will be an opportunity for visitors to ask the handler questions.

Time of Event

The bird handler will lead visitors from the castle forecourt at 2pm to the events field where the display will commence at 2.15pm and the show will last for approximately 1 hr.

 The event is included in the cost of the admission charge

The event is held in support of The Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF) and will highlight the importance of protecting endangered species.

THERE WILL BE A DONATION BOX FOR THE CHEETAH CONSERVATION FUND