Founded in 1980 by Cathryn Hilker, the Cat Ambassador Program began from her love of cheetahs and her desire to help save them and inspire people to care about them. She started with the first ambassador cheetah, Angel, hand-raised and trained her to visit schools in the area and the zoo to educate people about the cheetah’s plight. In 1992, the Angel Fund was established in Angel’s memory to raise money for cheetah conservation efforts in Africa. In 1996, Cathryn began lure coursing cheetahs, making Cincinnati Zoo one of the first zoos in the world to demonstrate cheetah running speeds for guests. In 2002, the Mast Cheetah Breeding Farm opened with money raised through the Angel Fund and became one of ten accredited cheetah breeding centers in the U.S., where more than 65 cheetah cubs have been born. In 2007, the Cathryn Hilker training yard was completed, transforming a former education building parking lot into a football-field-sized area. In 2012, ambassador cheetah Sarah ran 100 meters in 5.95 seconds during a National Geographic photoshoot, becoming the world’s fastest land mammal. By 2021, the program had expanded to include other ambassador animals such as African servals, ocelots, domestic cats and dogs, a crested porcupine, and a red river hog, while continuing today to educate millions of people each year in person and virtually to help save the cheetah.