While it is most famous for being the fastest mammal on Earth, did you know that the cheetah was once a status symbol for some of the world’s most powerful men? Kings and princes prized the cheetah for its beauty and elegance. Both Genghis Khan and Charlemagne treasured these qualities by keeping cheetahs as pets.

Today these prized beasts can be found at Auckland Zoo and, thanks to a Zoom Cheetah Experience van provided by CourierPost, visitors will be able to enjoy an exciting experience with one of the world’s endangered species.

The Zoom program allows visitors to have an up-close guided encounter with the zoo’s cheetahs Anubis and Osiris - who will soon be having an encounter of their own when they are introduced to their brand-new Zoom Cheetah Experience van. The ‘cheetah-ed up’ van will enable keepers to transport Anubis and Osiris (who are named after ancient Egyptian gods) within the zoo during public hours and to non-public areas.

CourierPost General Manager Mark Gibson says his team is incredibly excited about supporting the Auckland Zoo and in particular the Zoom Cheetah Experience. “We pride ourselves on offering a fast, reliable courier service, so it only seems right to be sponsoring the world’s fastest animal. We’re sure the zoo will get great use out of the distinctive CourierPost van that we’ve provided. It’s certain to get noticed too!”

Along with the experience of meeting these cheetahs up close, visitors will be able to see Anubus and Osiris in action chasing a lure in the elephant paddock. Elephant/Carnivores Section Team Leader Andrews Coers says, “By this summer, general zoo visitors will also be able to watch these incredible cats run in the elephant paddock. That’s going to be a stand-out encounter not to be missed.”

The cheetah has become an endangered species due to habitat loss, poaching, competition with large predators and loss of genetic variation. Auckland Zoo recognises this by providing a percentage of revenue from the Zoom Cheetah Experience to support the Cheetah Outreach program that advocates for the animal in Africa.

Mr Gibson says, “We truly admire all of the valuable work that Auckland Zoo does around animal conservation and education, so we’re very pleased to be aligning ourselves with such a fantastic organization. What’s more, we’re very family-oriented at CourierPost. We recognise that our partnership with the zoo will also provide us with more opportunities to encourage family based activities to our staff, which is a great bonus for us.”

Brothers Anubis and Osiris arrived in New Zealand in April 2006 at the age 10 months. They were both hand-raised under the Cheetah Outreach Ambassador Training Programme in Cape Town, South Africa.