CINCINNATI — The Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Gardens provided an update on its cheetah, Kris, one of its ambassadors, who fell unexpectedly during a routine run in the cheetah encounter near the end of last month.

What You Need To Know

  • Kris the cheetah was born in 2019

  • Recently, while running in the zoo's cheetah encounter Kris fell unexpectedly

  • While her spine was not broken, it was determined she had a partially ruptured intervertebral disc and some trauma to her spinal cord

  • Cincinnati Zoo said Kris has been gaining better use of her feet, keeping her paws underneath her and twitching her tail

Kris was born in 2019, and is well known in the community for her speed and her relationship with her companion dog, Remus. 

During her routine run in the encounter, mid sprint, Kris fell and shocked the audience and trainers in attendance. Cincinnati Zoo said the response was to keep Kris calm and bring veterinarians in to treat her. An on-site x-ray was performed where they determined her spine was not broken.

Kris was taken to MedVet, where an MRI was conducted. The zoo said she had a partially ruptured intervertebral disc and some trauma to her spinal cord. Because of the injuries, Kris lost mobility in an instant in her back legs during the run. The cause of the injuries is unknown, but Cincinnati Zoo said it was likely an accident that caused her spine to tweak in the right way to cause the damage. Similar injuries have been reported in dogs, such as greyhounds.

Since her spinal cord was intact, surgery was not needed, but treatment called for keeping her calm, relaxed and out of pain.

“When we first brought her back to the zoo, she did not have any movement of her back legs or tail for the first few days. Kris was a bit agitated, which is understandable; however, she was still willing to let her trainers come in and clean her and feed her,” the zoo said in a news release. “Over the past week, we have seen some incredible improvement. We were not sure what her level of mobility would be after the injury, but every day there was a little bit more movement.”

Cincinnati Zoo said Kris has been gaining better use of her feet, keeping her paws underneath her and twitching her tail, even attempting to take some steps.

“We are taking things step by step, day by day and thrilled Kris has been getting better,” the zoo said. “It is likely we will start physical therapy at some point to help her with her mobility in hopes that she will be able to walk around steadily again.”

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