Cheetah News

Xena and Luna: The First 8 Days of Freedom

2012-01-30T13:50:00.000-05:00

22 January 2012 - Day 1

As you read on Laurie's report, two of our female cheetahs, Xena and Luna, were released today into the 4,000-ha Bellebenno game camp. Once all the CCF staff, interns and guests left, Rachel and I stayed with the cheetahs. They ate the carcass we fed them without any aggression towards each other. Xena protected it from us several times by charging at us, then slapping and hissing. The remainder of the evening it rained, forcing Rachel and I to leave them. It will be interesting if we find them together tomorrow.

23 January 2012 - Day 2

The cheetahs, with their massive bellies, were surprisingly still together at the carcass. After such a meal, it was expected that they would rest all day. It was not until around 18:00 when Xena began to drift away from Luna, exploring her new freedom. She let Rachel and I follow her for a short while, but in this time we witnessed her clawing at a tree with her front paws, a sign of marking. Eventually she seemed to become “annoyed” of our presence and ran off. Then the rains came and Rachel and I had to retreat back to the car and ultimately leave them.

24 January 2012 - Day 3

Today Xena and Luna were still separated, but not by more than 300-500m. They were independently seen walking along the puddle-filled roads most of the morning (at different times and in different places). We followed them, but both would constantly turn around to check on us then run away. Rachel and I decided it best to leave them alone as to not alter their natural behaviour. The heavy rains came again as the sun went down. Unfortunately the tracking equipment does not function properly in the rain so we left them for the night.

25 January 2012 - Day 4

Luna (CCF archive photo)

We found Luna first this morning. She allowed us to stay watching her as she rested in the grass. A bold Black-Backed jackal approached her and then swiftly ran away. This caught Luna’s attention and she chased after it. As we tried to keep up, we then found her running directly past us, but this time she was hunting a female steenbok! Unfortunately the attempt was unsuccessful. Afterwards, Rachel and I went to find Xena but were having a very difficult time pinpointing her exact location. Then suddenly we found her about two metres up a tree, utilising its height for an improved vantage point. She clumsily circled around in the fork of the tree before jumping down to land. In the afternoon we found Luna in a very open area with few trees or bushes. We later discovered she made her FIRST KILL! It was a warthog piglet and she nearly consumed the entire animal. Xena avoided us the entire evening sprinting away from us whenever we approached. They were still in the same general location of one another, but not together.

26 January 2012 - Day 5

This morning was another day of following an endlessly beeping receiver. The cheetahs would run away from Rachel and me before we had a chance to even see them, therefore we would track them without seeing them. They did leave trace amounts of their spoor on the still muddy roads. We could tell one of them drank from a puddle in the road. In the afternoon we found Xena and she was on her FIRST KILL! It was a warthog piglet and the kill was made in the same general area as Luna’s first kill (open bush). Later we found Luna; she had moved 3km since the morning. She was in completely new territory covered in extremely thick acacia bushes. Only after 5 days and I am more than confident these females would be able to live in the wild.

27 January 2012 - Day 6

While tracking Xena and Luna in the morning, we first found Luna. Being that it was still dark outside, we used our torches (flashlights) and saw her green eye shine peering through the grasses. Earlier in the week we found Xena while it was still dark and she had red-orange eye shine. This is interesting to note because it has been thought and taught that predators only have orange eye shine while prey species have green. Eye shine results from a layer of cells behind the retina, called tapetum lucidum, that reflects light. It is most commonly seen in nocturnal animals that need this reflective layer to enhance night vision.

Xena (CCF archive photo)

In the evening, we found Xena again and this time she was very defensive. She then picked up a carcass in her jaws. It was her second kill in two consecutive days; another warthog piglet! She is proving herself very adaptable to her newly wild environment. Luna on the other hand seems to continue moving eastbound through Bellebenno further away from her release mate.

28 January 2012 - Day 7

Today we found Luna before she began moving. We found her decently close to camp as she began her morning awakening. Starting with repeated yawns, autogrooming, scratching her back on the stiff grass, and then getting up to stretch. She later began walking and stood upon a termite mound gazing all around. Throughout the entirety of the day and night, Xena avoided Rachel and me, running away from us whenever we approached. In the evening Luna made her second kill, another warthog piglet. This year in Bellebenno, there has been a massive warthog piglet outbreak and their population seems to be exponentially growing. Having Xena and Luna in Bellebenno will keep the warthog population in check, proving the cheetahs’ role in maintaining a healthy ecosystem.

29 January 2012 - Day 8

Surprisingly, Xena let Rachel and me follow her this morning. We watched as she began walking into the bush, then running, and then bouncing. It was behaviour I have never seen before in a cheetah. As she continued bouncing through the bush we then heard a warthog piglet squealing. It appeared she was teasingly playing with the piglet. She could have easily killed the warthog if she wanted to, but she seemed more interested in the playful chase. This was good to note that she was not just killing everything that moved and that she only hunted when hungry. The rest of the evening was dedicated to following their signals on the receiver. They were moving and did not want us to catch up to them. When we left them were in the same general area.

Will send photos as soon as we can.

Ryan

Two Female Cheetahs Released in Bellebenno Training Camp

2012-01-22T23:34:00.000-05:00

We just released two female cheetahs scheduled for re-wilding, Luna and Xena. The release went very smoothly, with the two cats running after the feeding bakkie out the gate of their holding area into CCF’s 4,000-ha Bellebeno game camp, which is used for re-wilding. The two females were fitted with satellite collars to follow movements throughout the day and night. CCF rangers Ryan and Rachel will be tracking them as well. The cats were fed a carcass and settled down after eating. They appeared interested in their new area and I’m sure will begin exploring this evening. We will provide updates as often as possible to keep everyone posted on their progress.

Xena and Luna release into the Bellebenno 4,000-ha game camp.

The release occurred at 1pm today with a team of CCF staff and interns watching (and getting stuck in a hole). It's raining really hard – nearly 50 mm in a couple hours this evening.

Stuck.

Other exciting events at CCF include goat kids being born (2 female dairy kids born today), along with lambs being born daily (15 more to go). We are also expecting another liter of LSGD at the end of the month to Kari, who is looking really healthy, and our scat-detection dogs are really liking their new trainer, Adam.

CCF's Dog Trainer Adam Bean with scant-detection dogs, Finn and Uschi.

We have had many special visitors: the British High Commissioner was here last weekend with her family, a group of learners from a Swedish high school spent two days with us this week, a group of teachers from the Pacific Lutheran College in Washington State who are doing internships in Windhoek schools, a group who were Peace Corp volunteers 19 years ago, and Dr. Rob Fleischer, the geneticist from the National Zoo in the US.

Pacific Lutheran College (Washington State) visited CCF.

British High Commissioner, Marianne Young, and her family, with CCF staff, interns and volunteers.

Cheetah purrs,

Laurie

Six more puppies placed on farms.

2012-01-22T13:48:00.000-05:00

The surgeries.

On 9 and 10 January, we surgically sterilised Uschi’s litter of puppies prior to their placement on farms as livestock guarding dogs. CCF's veterinary nurse Rosie Glazier and veterinary nurse intern Stephanie Pearce assisted me with the surgeries, which went very well.

Future livestock guarding dogs go to their new homes.

Once sterilised, the six puppies were ready to go to their new homes. One female and two males left CCF on 14 January and another female and male left on 15 January. The last remaining puppy will be sent to its new home end of the month when her new owner returns from a trip. As usual, the receiving farmers went through CCF's one-day mandatory "puppy information day" that covers care and training of livestock guarding dogs as well as predator-friendly livestock management.

CCF's Gail Potgieter explains care and training of future livestock guarding dogs to a farmer.

All of the puppies seemed very excited, and the farmers were all very happy to receive their puppies that will help to protect their livelihoods as well as help to safeguard Namibia’s predator populations.

Gaby

Students leave, cheetahs show up, and more from the Ecology Team.

2012-01-20T13:23:00.000-05:00

Two of our students from the Van Hall Larenstein in the Netherlands will be leaving us at the weekend, which is a sad time for us. Teresia Robitschko undertook a project to determine the extent of human-wildlife conflict in a number of conservancies across Namibia. The results of her research highlight the need for more training in effective livestock husbandry management, such as the Farmer’s Day courses run at CCF. Marieke Reijneker analysed four years of data from waterhole counts in Bellebenno game camp and discovered that rainfall has an effect on the population counts of warthog and eland. Instead of coming to drink at the waterhole, these species instead use surface water to quench their thirst, which underestimates the population counts.

The wild female cheetah with her five cubs that were released on 10 December 2011 have been tracked by a satellite collar to determine their movements. Over the last month the mother went south onto our neighbour’s property, north-east to the edge of the Waterberg Plateau and now is heading back onto CCF land! We hope that she is still with her cubs (including her adopted ones) but can only be sure when we catch a visual of her. It is possible her presence will be picked up by our camera traps on our property if she decides to stick around.

Tracking the Wild Mom and her cubs.

Our resident male cheetah, HiFi, had his radio collar replaced last month as we were finding it hard to get a signal from it with our radio-tracking equipment. Since then we have picked up a strong signal from him at least 4 times per week and have spotted him frequently on our camera traps.

HiFi caught on camera

As mentioned on Laurie's Field Notes in December, we are preparing for the release of two of CCF's resident female cheetahs into our training grounds in the Bellebenno game camp. This is always an exciting time for us at CCF as it allows us to determine how ready for the wild each individual cat is with the hope of eventual release in the future. We shall keep you updated as to their progress.

Niki Rust
Ecologist

Cheetah Update from Laurie

2012-01-12T21:49:00.000-05:00

Hi! It's been so busy. Sorry we have been out of touch! Just this week...

One of our Kangal dogs (Firat) was gored by a warthog and had emergency surgery on Monday. We neutered all our puppies on Monday and Tuesday so they will be ready for placement with farmers this Saturday, when they participate in a Farmer’s Day and then take their puppies. We had a film crew here on Tuesday filming for Hostel Life. They managed to film everything in one day!

Firat's surgery.

Today we took Klein to the dentist, and have been taking care of three new sheep born in the last three days. And last night we ran the four OK cubs out in the field, at the corner area where we ran Chewbaaka for 14 years...it was exciting to see them all running together with the Waterberg Plateau in the background. Our big team of interns and volunteers (and our small staff) enjoyed watching.

CCF's interns, volunteers and staff at the Big Field with the OK cubs.

Never a dull moment.

For those who haven't heard yet, we made our 2011 year-end match! We could not have done it without the incredible support and commitment from many of you to save the wild cheetah from extinction.

Thanks,

Laurie

UPDATE: Four Cheetahs Out, Three Cheetahs In.

2011-12-30T12:51:00.001-05:00

Click here for French.

Update. The post below was published on 12 November. We would like to clarify that the farm where the cubs were collected was not the same farm where the cheetah mother was shot. In fact, this farm rescued the cubs from the other farm. We apologise for not explaining this important fact. The farmer that called CCF was in fact helping the cubs and we truly appreciate his involvement. The picture below was taken at the farm where the cubs were cared for while awaiting to be picked up by CCF staff. We are extremely thankful to the farmer who helped save the lives of these cubs that now roam free with their new adopted mother and siblings.

The cubs on their way to CCF

Once at CCF, the cubs were anaesthetised the following morning for a health check-up and sample collection by Laurie Marker, CCF veterinarian Dr. Gaby Flacke, veterinary nurse Rosie Glazier, cheetah husbandry team Juliette Erdstieck and Rachel Shairp, as well as several interns and two working guests.

The workups

The cubs, all males, had no trauma wounds, although they were quite thin from not having eaten for several days while in the trap. They were given vaccinations and treatments for de-worming and flea/tick prevention, as well as transponder microchips for identification purposes.


Two of the three Hochfeld cubs

So far the cubs are doing fine and although they are very shy and scared, they are eating well and seem healthy. They will live at CCF and hopefully one day will be able to be released into the wild.

What happened with these cubs is exactly the type of situation that CCF aims to avoid through education and outreach programs to teach people that there are many ways to prevent and reduce predator conflict issues, other than shooting the predator. As it is customary, the CCF staff invited the farmer to learn more about predator-friendly farming tools.

In the meantime, we are excited about the release of the four collared males into the 4,000-ha training camp tomorrow. Stay tuned!

Gaby

Uschi's Puppies Almost Ready for their Jobs.

2011-12-29T16:46:00.001-05:00

Uschi's puppies are now over seven weeks old and are getting very big and
developing their individual personalities. The puppies love running around
in the kraal and wrestling with each other. On hot days (it is summer in
Namibia) the puppies like to dig holes and lay in them to keep cool. They
are also in the process of teething and like to nibble on everything.

In the last couple of weeks the puppies have received their third and final
de-wormer while here at CCF. This final de-wormer will prevent against
internal parasites such as tapeworms and roundworms. This particular
de-wormer tastes like bananas which the puppies quite enjoyed. The puppies
have also received their second vaccination which prevents against
parainfluenza, canine distemper, and parvovirus. The puppies were so tired
from playing when Gaby gave their vaccination that they didn't even move.

Wishing you a Happy New Year!

Rosie Glazier, DVN
Veterinary Nurse

Happy Christmas!

2011-12-26T12:04:00.000-05:00

We hope you all had a very Merry Christmas and that you enjoyed your friends
and family. We had Christmas Eve dinner in the little Serengeti (big field –
attached is a photo of our group) with hamburgers that Bruce made. Then
yesterday we had Christmas brunch (one of our volunteer brought maple syrup
for our pancakes). We had a huge rain storm – dam filling rains and hail!
So, we all got wet. We also went over to our farm workers' houses to wish
them a Merry Christmas and to join the kids' party where we delivered
watermelon for them (photo attached). Bruce was Father Christmas.

Many cheetah Purrs - and hope your holidays continue to be wonderful.

Laurie and Bruce

The Ecology Team Reporting

2011-12-23T12:32:00.000-05:00

The wild female cheetah with her five cubs have been satellite tracked since
their release on 9 December. As of 20 December they had travelled 23 km from
their release site to the south of CCF property and onto our neighbour's
farm.

Our Earthwatch volunteers unfortunately finished up their two-week placement
last weekend. (On the photo, Earthwatch assists with cheetah collaring.) We
were sad to see them go, as they have been extremely helpful. They were busy
assisting with many aspects of the ecology department, including spotting
animals on our monthly game counts. Whilst on one of the field game count
earlier this month we saw a herd of eland grazing with their small calves.
We managed to snap a photo and count them all! Earthwatch also helped a lot
with our camera trapping. We were impressed to see a civet captured on one
of our camera traps, as they are usually very rare in this area.

We continue to radio track our resident male cheetah, Hi Fi, to monitor his
movements and spatial usage. However, we had not picked up a signal from him
for some time so we successful trapped him last week to fit him with a new
collar. Whilst anaesthetised, we gave him a health check and noticed that he
had quite a lot of ticks on him, so we spent over an hour picking them all
off! We then released him onto the airstrip (photo), where he proceeded to
run away. At first he turned around back to the crowd watching him, trotted
parallel to us and stopped to stare at us. He then made a run for it in the
opposite direction back into the safety of the bush.

The four male cheetahs that were in Bellebenno training camp have now been
moved back into smaller enclosures after a successful month of fending for
themselves. They are now ready to be released into the wild and Bellebenno
is vacant once more with plans for additional cheetahs to participate in
CCF's re-wilding programme sometime next year.

Best wishes to all for the Holidays!

Niki Rust
Ecologist

Wild Cheetah and Cubs Released

2011-12-11T20:23:00.001-05:00

On Friday we released the wild mom and her now five cubs (adopted and her
own) and they went out of their holding area fast. We have a satellite
collar on mom and she is a couple of kilometres from where we released her
(her collar downloaded today). We will know more on her movements on
Wednesday. It is great, as the cubs bonded and she bonded to all of them, so
we feel really good about her release.

Also, the male cheetahs in Bellebenno caught a female kudu yesterday and are
moving more in the camp. This is their sixth kill and we have not had to
feed them since the the few days. We are very pleased with their progress.

All else going OK – had 40 mm of rain three days ago – sunny again now – but
our thatch roofs leak!

Laurie

Cheetah Update from Laurie

2011-12-07T01:51:00.000-05:00

Chester, one of the Bellebenno cheetah males currently participating in CCF’s re-wilding programme, was wounded a few days ago, so we took him out for treatment – he was bitten on his leg and foot and he needed antibiotics. He is about ready to go back out with the group. The males have been hunting very well – they caught a steenbok on Sunday and a warthog the day before – and they are moving around more, about 3 km per day.

Remember the cubs we got about two months ago, and the female with two cubs from the game farm we got more recently? All five cubs are about the same age, so for over a week I have been working daily to get the group together and make a new family, which has worked out very well. Yesterday we fitted the mom with a satellite collar and will work towards a release in the next couple days. We have been monitoring them via camera traps and it has been really exciting to see them all eating together.

Cheetah mom with her larg(er) family. (c) Cheetah Conservation Fund.

Uschi’s puppies are walking around now, and the international course participants have all left -- they were a great group, just like the Earthwatch group who arrived on Sunday. Meanwhile, we have hosted several film crews. The last few days we had a TV crew from NBC TV Namibia linked to the Deutsche Welle, and then one from Africa TV that did a story about International Cheetah Day and interviewed our international course participants.

Uschi's puppies - their first steps. (c) Cheetah Conservation Fund.

The course participants also got to take part in two work ups on two of CCF's resident cheetahs with dental problems: Solo, an 11-year old female who had an abscess associated with the root of one of her maxillary (upper) pre-molar teeth, and Padme, a 4-year old female with a broken upper canine.

For many of the participants this was the first time to witness a medical procedure with an immobilized wild carnivore, so it was not only helpful for the two animals to have their dental issues resolved, it was also a great learning opportunity for our course participants who were here from eight cheetah-range countries.

International Course Participants assist with Padme's work up. (c) Cheetah Conservation Fund.

The dentist from Otjiwarongo, Dr. Dennis Profitt (who has worked upon many of CCF’s cheetahs over the years!) came to the CCF clinic to take care of both problems. Solo's abscess was surgically incised and she is now on antibiotics on her way to recovery. Padme had a root canal and can keep her very important upper canine tooth, an essential tooth for catching and holding prey when hunting in the wild. Thank you Dr. Profitt!

Undoubtedly a very busy week!

Cheetah purrs to all,
Laurie

Two cheetah cubs and their mother awaiting to be released.

2011-11-28T21:24:00.000-05:00

Preparing for the workup. (c) Cheetah Conservation Fund

On Friday 25 November, CCF was again called to pick up a family of wild cheetahs that had been trapped by a game farmer. This time it was a mother and two young cubs (one male, one female), and all three of them had their work-ups performed under anesthesia on Saturday morning, 26 November. As with all wild cheetah work-ups, they had samples taken (blood, hair, skin, scat), they were vaccinated against Rabies virus and treated for parasites, they had identification photos taken and ear tags placed, and they were given intravenous fluids for hydration support. All went well with the anesthetic procedures and they recovered well.

Earthwatch volunteers assist the CCF staff with one of the cubs' workup. (c) Cheetah Conservation Fund

As we have indicated before, game farms are probably the greatest threats to cheetahs in Namibia. Indeed, more cheetahs are killed here than on livestock farms. These farms are stocked with wildlife, some of which are exotic and very valuable, such as blesbok, black wildebeest and tsessebe. Thus, to keep these animals within the property, farmers install almost impenetrable fences. Some cheetahs can and do find a way in and once inside, they might not be able to get out again and end up hunting valuable game.

Fortunately, because these young cubs still have their mother to take care of them and teach them to hunt, they can be released back into the wild.

Greetings to all,

Gaby (Vet)

The first seven days of freedom - A journal.

2011-11-26T17:45:00.000-05:00

Day 1 - 13 November 2011

After their release into the 4000-ha Bellebenno game camp, Anakin, followed by Obi-Wan and Chester made their way towards the half-eaten oryx carcass that was placed in the shade of a tree inside of Bellebenno. Omdillo finally made his way out several minutes later. They ate together with very little aggression and before falling asleep in the smouldering hot afternoon.

Around 18:00 they ventured off into their new, much larger, home. We followed their signals, using an antennae and receiver to find out their whereabouts. Each cat is equipped with a VHF radio collar that has a specific frequency, which our receiver picks up. As the beeps get louder on the receiver you know you are getting closer. They led us in one large circle, and every time we caught the quickest glimpse of them, they would run away from us!

Once the sun went down, our team (Rachel [cheetah keeper], Kat [ecologist] and I [cheetah re-introducer]) was still attempting to get accurate visuals of the cats. When we decided to call it quits, I went to go get our vehicle in the dark. This is when I saw two sets of eye shine right on the road. It ended up being Obi-Wan and Chester! They quickly ran into the bush and were masked by complete darkness. Hopefully tomorrow they will allow us to observe them more…

Day 2 - 14 November 2011

The morning began at 06:00 when we finally received a strong enough signal to track one of the cats: Chester. Although we got several visuals on him, he kept running away. Instead of pressuring him more, we decided to search for Anakin and Obi-Wan. We found them together but also ran away from us whenever we got within 50 metres. Eventually they went to rest under a tree and let us observe. Lastly, we found Omdillo. He ran from us the first couple sightings, but then let us watch as he laid in the shade. After about 15 minutes of observation, Omdillo began calling for his coalition, who ranged 700-1800m away. He appeared stressed and did not seem to want to be apart from them.

After lunch we found Omdillo and Chester lying together under a tree right next to the road! We then switched and tracked Anakin and Obi-Wan. They were also in the shade, about one kilometre away from the other two. As we observed, we noticed a slight swelling above Anakin’s left eye. He was blinking frequently and it seemed a little wet from constant tears. There was no conspicuous discharge or anything so we will continue to monitor him in case it gets worse.

Around 19:30 we found Chester and Omdillo who had not moved far. We actually found them at the release site where they were investigating the last of the remains from their supplied oryx carcass. They could possibly be getting hungry again. At around 20:00, when all was dark, I watched Omdillo and Chester crouch low as if to see something! Emerging from the grass appeared Anakin and Obi-Wan! It was amazing! All four cats were reunited and began heading down the road together.

Day 3 - 15 November 2011

We followed the cats’ spoor (tracks) down the road. They moved quite a bit since we left them last night. About 5 metres from the road Rachel spotted Anakin and Obi-Wan. They were allogrooming each other’s faces! Today was the first time this behaviour was recorded with this group! After we watched for a while, we decided to find Omdillo and Chester, whose signals told us they were nearby.

We walked about 35m before I heard a crunching sound. At 06:15 we looked closer and found them feeding on a sub-adult female oryx! THEIR FIRST KILL!!! Only three days into the release and the cats have made a kill! Rachel and I were completely ecstatic! Unfortunately we missed the hunt and could not tell who killed the oryx, but we have a very strong suspicion it was either Omdillo or Chester (two most dominant cats). Omdillo came to CCF when he was three years old and would have had the most experience in terms of being wild.

Judging from the freshness of the carcass, but the fact that it was almost completely eaten, Rachel and I determined that the kill was made when it was still dark, around 04:00 - 05:00.

As the morning got hotter, the cats began to search for shade. Omdillo and Chester were the last to leave the carcass. But before they finished, both of them were observed covering the carcass with dead grass, which made it barely visible.

Around 17:00 we returned to the cats and found them in the same spot -- still with the carcass. All four seemed exhausted from the heat as well as the daunting task of feeding! At one point Omdillo and Obi-Wan (at separate times) revisited the carcass and even tried to eat some of its little remains. They did not stay long, for the massive amounts of butterflies and other insects may have driven the cheetahs away.

Eventually the cats walked off. They headed straight towards the road and began walking on the cool sandy surface back towards their release site again. We left the cats there and on our way home, Rachel and I had the miraculous privilege to see a brown hyena walking away from the road. Today, in its entirety, was a day to remember!

Day 4 - 16 November 2011

On this chilly morning, we found all four cheetahs still together and fairly close to where we left them last night. They mostly slept and rested through the morning, probably due to their large bellies (especially Omdillo).

At one point, Rachel and I were watching them rest from about 20m away when Chester got up and began to approach us. As we sat, he got closer and closer but not aggressively. I tried to make my body look large by sitting upright, hoping this would make him return to the others. Instead he calmly got closer (only 3-5m from us!). I told Rachel that we should slowly step back and give him space. He ended up investigating our backpacks by sniffing them. I was personally worried that he was going to scent mark our bags with his urine, but luckily this was not the case. He ended up just walking back to his coalition and continued to rest the remainder of his day away.

It was a lazy, quiet and relaxing day in Bellebenno until about 19:00. Then the wind picked up and the clouds rolled in. Thunder clapped and eventually lightning struck throughout the heavy clouded dark sky. The cheetahs did not seem too alarmed by this, but Rachel and I were. We ended up cooking dinner in the rain and ate the delicious meal inside of our vehicle (called the Condor). Hopefully the cheetahs found a nice place to remain dry. We are hoping that the cats will soon find one of four man-made Bellebenno’s watering holes, but with the new rain, they can just drink from puddles for now!

Day 5 - 17 November 2011

The cats were still asleep when we woke up. Then they walked up and down the fence line for a little bit, but by 08:00 they were sleeping again, and here they remained for a good part of the day. They only moved to follow the shade.

After lunch, Rachel and I returned to the cats. Like usual, we found them on the road. Chester was in some shade just beside the road, Anakin was lying in the road and Obi-Wan was frantically and unusually pacing the fence line. That’s when I saw my greatest fear come to life. Outside the fence was Omdillo! Rachel and I realised we had to act quickly. I tied up a swing gate with some wire. Rachel had extra meat in the car (used to feed another cheetah, Darwin) and we called for Omdillo, as if going to feed him. He approached the fence, but the attention obviously attracted the other three cats. As I guarded Rachel’s back from them, she threw a small piece of meat to Omdillo. After he ate the first piece, Rachel threw the second meat treat on our side of the fence, forcing him to go through the propped opened swing gate to get the meat. Since these cats are so food-motivated, the plan worked perfectly and all four were reunited again.

Rachel and I checked the entire area where he escaped and found no definitive part of the fence where Omdillo escaped. It remains a mystery.

Once unified, the coalition made their way to a nice shaded area and slept the majority of the day away. Only as the dusk set, did they move along the roads. We left them as they all flopped in the middle of the road. It was a crazy, emotional day for us here in Bellebenno!

Day 6 - 18 November 2011

Rachel and I decided to have an early morning in hopes of witnessing a hunt/kill. Instead, we found the cats around 05:00 (still dark) near the cheetah pens. Not five minutes later, we found both Omdillo as well as Obi-Wan stuck in the buffer zone (area between two entrance gates of an enclosure) where they were previously penned! Neither could squeeze back through the gates, so Rachel and I had to carefully open it for them, once again reuniting the coalition.

Later, the cats made their way east, but still staying close to the roads and fence line. As they walked down the dirt road, they would occasionally walk into the bush to scent mark an acacia bush, tree or termite mound. This was not only the furthest away they had been from their release spot; but also the furthest into Bellebenno these protective males have been yet! We observed Obi-Wan eating oryx faeces on three separate occasions! I wanted an explanation for this caprophagic (eating faeces) behaviour, so I went to our head cheetah keeper, Juliette, for answers. She told me that this could result from, “…a mineral deficiency, a learning curve, or even from consuming similar smelling/tasting faeces from their carcasses/kill.” She further went on to explain that, “this behaviour is commonly observed for many animals and there is a highly unlikely chance of pure hunger being the cause of it.” We also saw Obi-Wan climb 2m high in an acacia tree!

Before lunch, Rachel decided that it would be best to supply the cheetahs with some water. Although we want them to find one of Bellebenno’s four water holes, they haven’t yet showed promising behaviours of reaching these water holes any time soon. I carried water out to them in a medium-sized plastic tub. They knew exactly what it was and drank several litres in about 3-minutes’time. They were definitely thirsty but we certainly don’t want them to rely on us to supply them every time.

Later in the afternoon, the males allogroomed one another, mainly in pairs: Anakin and Obi-Wan, then Omdillo and Chester, until they fell asleep.

Red Crested Korhan (Source: http://www.africam.com/wildlife/janines_trip_report?page=2)

On a side note, Rachel and I witnessed a male Red Crested Korhan. This is a once in a lifetime sighting -- a birding photographer’s most sought-after photo, and I have it on video! Later that night, we also had a beautifully sleek Small Spotted Genet visit during dinner. Both of these sightings were unforgettable and continue to make me realise how fortunate I am to be here.

Day 7 - 19 November 2011

Rachel and I started early again and found the coalition on the same road. It seems they have found a territory worth guarding, and of course it borders a fence line with some of CCF’s captive female cheetahs. Near the entrance of this female enclosure (57ha), we found fresh cheetah scat –evidently from one of the four males! We quickly collected the sample and brought it back to a very chilled cooler so it can be analysed at the CCF’s genetics lab.

The cats walked the road until the sun became too unbearable; found nice shade and slept. After an hour or so, they randomly got up and moved to different shade. Rachel went to mark their old spot with our GPS unit, but quickly came back running to me in a panic. She had seen a snake darting away from her --the obvious reason why the cats left their spot. We cautiously went back to try to identify the snake as it slithered swiftly up an acacia bush. Rachel said it must be a Cape Cobra, one of Namibia’s deadliest and most venomous snakes. This experience reminded us of how careful we must be. Life in the bush is full of surprises, and some require to be constantly guarded.

By lunchtime, Juliette replaced Rachel, and both of us watched as the cats re-traced this morning’s steps. They walked al the way back towards the female cheetah pens, constantly scent marking. At one point there was a large adult oryx obliviously grazing several hundred metres ahead from them. The cats saw the oryx, but did not hunt it! Instead, when only about 100m away, we caught Anakin flopping in the middle of the road and Omdillo scent marking a bush! We could wondered why the males didn’t try to hunt the oryx, since we know they are hungry...

Cheers from CCF,

Ryan Marcel Sucaet

Cheetah males rewilded, landscapes and VIP visitors.

2011-11-19T00:48:00.001-05:00

We hope you enjoy these photos taken during the release of Ombdillo, Anakin, Obi-wan and Chester last Sunday. They are now in the 4,000-ha Bellebenno training camp and doing great and by Wednesday had already made their first kill!

The release team. (c) Cheetah Conservation Fund

The first kill. (c) Cheetah Conservation Fund

These have been exciting days here. On Tuesday, we were in Windhoek for the launch of the Namibia Protected Landscape Conservation Areas Initiative (NAM-Place), which establishes five protected landscape conservation areas to address threats to habitat and species loss on a landscape-level approach. One of these areas is the Greater Waterberg Complex, where we have done lots of livestock and wildlife management training for about four years, and includes the Eastern Communal area conservancies, the Waterberg Plateau Park and the Waterberg Conservancy.

NAM-Place, funded by the Global Environmental Facility (GEF) and in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), strengthens the Namibian government’ steady commitment to environmental protection and sustainable natural resource management, as stated by the Minister of Environment and Tourism, the Hon. Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwa, during her inaugural speech on Tuesday.

The Minister of the Environment and Tourism and our Greater Waterberg Complex group. (c) Cheetah Conservation Fund

We were also honoured to host the U.S. Ambassador to Namibia, Wanda Nesbitt here at CCF yesterday. It was great showing her around our Centre and sharing information about our work with her.

Amb. Nesbitt with Laurie. (c) Cheetah Conservation Fund

Cheetah purrs to all!
Laurie

Four Cheetahs Out, Three Cheetahs In.

2011-11-12T12:43:00.001-05:00

Last Monday, only two days before collaring Ombdillo, Anakin, Obi-wan and Chester for release, CCF collected three cheetah cubs trapped by a farmer near Hochfeld. They were trapped with their mother, but sadly she was shot by the farmer, leaving the young cubs as orphans at approximately four months old.

We would like to clarify that the farm where the cubs were collected was not the same farm where the cheetah mother was shot. In fact, this farm rescued the cubs from the other farm. We apologise for not explaining this important fact. The farmer that called CCF was in fact helping the cubs and we truly appreciate his involvement. The picture below was taken at the farm where the cubs were cared for while awaiting to be picked up by CCF staff.

The cubs on their way to CCF

The workups


Two of the three Hochfeld cubs

Preparation for the Release of Four Leopard Pen Males

2011-11-10T14:59:00.000-05:00

Just over a year ago, I was here at CCF monitoring the Chocolates and Chanel --four captive female cheetahs that beat all odds to become wild, self-sufficient cats now living at Erindi. This year I will hopefully be doing a similar story.

We just collared four of CCF’s resident male cheetah males living in the Leopard Pen: Ombdillo, Chester, Anakin and Obi-wan. In preparation for this, the CCF keepers fed them their first carcass a few days earlier. To simulate a hunt, we made them work for their meal by having them run around the fence a couple of times. This coalition will be released on Saturday into the 4,000-ha Bellebenno camp to begin their training for a life of freedom.

We decided to give them an unopened carcass to observe how well (or not well) they could open it. Opening a carcass is quite a challenging and complicated task. It can take quite a bit of effort from the cheetahs and they must also have good enough teeth to accomplish this task quickly. Ombdillo, being the one who arrived at CCF at an older age and had experienced life in the wild, was the first to feed. It didn’t take long for the other three to join, and so far, all four cats showed promising behaviors that are indicative of that of wild cheetahs

It is always exciting watching and recording behavioural information on cheetahs just prior to their release because you get to see how their behaviours and individual characteristics are in captivity. In the wilds of Bellebenno the cats may take on completely different roles compared to that in captivity. Over time I will be able to record these changes and see how these dynamic cats learn to be wild again.

I believe that the first week of the release will be the most exciting. In this time we will hopefully see who makes the first kill (or kill attempt), who scent marks the most, or who the other cats follow. But for now, we are confident that these healthy boys will be very successful in Bellebenno.

Cheers from CCF,

Ryan Marcel Sucaet

Young Dairy Goats Having a "Field Day'

2011-11-06T14:07:00.000-05:00

CCF’s farm provides the opportunity to practice and experiment with optimum methods of livestock and non-lethal farm management practices, especially acting as a showcase model of success. Goats and sheep are an essential part of CCF’s livestock guarding dog programme. In 2009,CCF began making fresh goat cheese using the milk from CCF’s dairy goats. The programme aims to facilitate training and skill development around the production of goat dairy products, enables livelihood diversification, and provides supplemental income to community members.

Last week on the 3 November the baby dairy goats were taken out for “exploring and grazing” for the first time. They go out together (14 of them) and are supervised by a livestock guarding dog and one of the kraal staff. The babies range in age from 4 months to as young as 1 month. Grazing and browsing helps them develop their rumen (fermentation stomach) in the weaning process. Exploring the world around then also helps with normal social development and keeps them entertained. All went well and the goats seemed to enjoy themselves very much! They found one particular woodpile quite fun to play on and around.

Thanks,
Gaby

Uschi gives birth to Eight Future Livestock Guarding Dogs.

2011-11-04T13:02:00.000-04:00

CCF's Anatolian shepherd Uschi gave birth to eight healthy pups yesterday: five females and three males. All are healthy and suckling well, and are quickly putting on weight. Uschi is behaving like a perfect mother while allowing us to monitor her puppies closely. Last year she was a bit too protective of her puppies but she now seems to be more comfortable when we have to handle them.

Enjoy the photos!

Rosie Glazier, DVN
Veterinary Nurse

Road to Freedom for Two Female Cheetahs?

2011-11-03T14:54:00.000-04:00

Greetings!

On Sunday, 30 October, we immobilised and placed radio tracking collars on Xena and Luna, the first two females planned for release. Both females are now in a small pen, awaiting release into the Bellebenno 4,000-hectare camp. The collars are VHF and GPS combination collars for traditional radio-tracking but their movements will also be followed via download of data from GPS satellite. All went well and the cats are tolerating their new collars well. Once they've learn to hunt on their own, they will be considered for release into the wild, hopefully with a group of males which will be immobilised and collared later this year.

Rosie, Gaby, Laurie and Rob collaring one of the females.

Today, the Husbandry team gave Xena and Luna a warthog carcass as part of their “training.”

"Training" to become hunters.

Gaby (CCF's Vet)

Exciting sighting! Wildmum and cubs caught on camera.

2011-10-29T08:37:00.001-04:00

Suzie, a year-long student from Cardiff, came across some exciting new
photos of the cat we call Wildmum while monitoring our cheetah census camera
traps.

You might recall that Wildmum was released by CCF in Feb this year with a
collar. We monitored her movements for five months via the satellite data.
When we went to retrieve her collar (which had a time release mechanism on
it) we stumbled across a den with at least three tiny cubs in it! Since then
we hadn't seen her. These recent photos show that she is alive and well and
still has three healthy baby cheetahs with her. You can see two cubs playing
in the tree and the third by the mother. This tree is situated near our
Bellebenno cheetah camp.

Since the beginning of this census in mid 2010, we have seen three set of
cubs, all from different females, captured by our camera traps at play
trees.

Kat

Cheetahs aiming high...way high!!!

2011-10-27T13:16:00.001-04:00

I went for a walk with some of our male resident cheetahs last evening. The gang had been out of the pen next to the dam for a few days due to construction of the new, adjoining pen. littleC immediately went up in the tree while "The Boys" (Smartman and Blondeman) and Ron checked out the big mound. After littleC came down, Ron marked the tree as cheetahs do and moved on. Smartman did not even bother doing that. But Blondeman decided to go up….way up! This is much higher than I have ever seen the Stars or littleC!

Bruce A. Brewer, PhD
General Manager

Thanks ALL - I'm back home!

2011-10-25T18:07:00.000-04:00

Hi! I made it back home Sunday evening with enough time to say hi to all the
animals and see all the different construction progress and have dinner with
the staff. All the animals look really good –Isha and Finn, the scat finding
dogs, went crazy to see me and both have tried to keep me in their sight
since I got back. The OK cubs and the Stars were also very glad to see me,
loud purrs!!! The horses were happy and all the goats, goat kids and
livestock guarding dogs are looking great! Yesterday was a good day as I was
able to catch up with everyone.

We worked on Klein (photo) – the herpes virus lesions on his legs are not
looking very good, so he had more treatment to clean them, in addition our
local dentist came out to CCF and did another root canal on him. We had two
visiting vets with us yesterday and today – friends from the San Francisco
area, Kathy Gervais and Alan Stewart – we know them from WCN. Today, they
helped us in the goat yard, as all the goats got their annual rabies
vaccines.

And as you know, never a dull moment, a French film crew has arrived,
fortunately today and not yesterday, when they were scheduled, thus allowing
me more time to catch up. It's hot, and there are some clouds in the sky. We
are hoping for some rain soon as there are a lot of lighting and thunder
storms around.

Thanks to all who participated in one way or another in my nearly two
month-long and very productive USA tour. This would not have been possible
without all our chapter, volunteers, staff, and of course, our friends and
supporters.

Many cheetah purrs,

Laurie

Full day of doctor's appointments for Darwin

2011-10-22T11:56:00.001-04:00

On Monday 17 Octobe we took Darwin, a 5-year old male cheetah at CCF, to Otjiwarongo for some medical care. First he stopped in at the Otjiwarongo Veterinary Clinic where he saw Dr. Axel Hartman for some radiographs. He has been limping on his right front leg for several weeks now, and it did not improve with administration of routine anti-inflammatory/pain medication. He was examined under anesthesia and the findings of the exam and the radiographs are concerning for a possible pinched nerve in the neck, maybe due to injury or a herniated disc. He is now on stronger anti-inflammatory medication and hopefully this will help his problem.

Darwin's right shoulder and elbow.

Darwin at the dentist.

After his x-ray appointment, Darwin headed down the road to the see dentist, Dr. Dennis Profitt, where he had a root canal performed on his right upper canine. The tip of this tooth had previously been broken and there was an infection in the tooth root. The root canal went fine with no complications, and he is back to having a healthy smile. Now we are just patiently waiting to see if his limping will also improve.

Thank you,
Gabriella Flacke, DVM, MVSc

Wildlifexpo – Alexandra Palace (London, 14-16 October, 2011)

2011-10-19T16:01:00.000-04:00

The Wildlifexpo, a major new wildlife exhibition, was finally upon us and after much planning and preparation, CCF UK was ready and waiting to take part. A stand had been set up in prime position in the exhibition hall for all the visitors, and our name-board certainly stood out in the crowd.

We spoke to a great many visitors over the two day Xpo and raised awareness of the plight of the cheetah and also the Cheetah Conservation Fund and the work carried out in Namibia and around the world. Our stand was also visited by a number of people who had already volunteered at CCF Namibia and wanted to become more involved. Meeting the enthusiastic volunteers who were helping out certainly increased interest and visitors were requesting information on volunteering and sponsoring a cheetah. Barbara of Big Cat Photography, who kindly allowed us to share her stand, also sold cheetah pins and cuddly toys on our behalf which were well received.

Unfortunately Laurie was not able to fit the Xpo into her busy schedule so I gave lectures on her behalf. The lectures covered the ecology of the cheetah and the work of CCF. They were well attended and many questions were asked giving us the opportunity to really raise awareness and offer ideas of how the UK can become more involved. We hope to organise and attend many more events in the coming months.

Cheers,

Anja Bradley
Development Research Consultant
Cheetah Conservation Fund (UK)

Ombdillo gets a root canal.

2011-10-10T20:57:00.000-04:00

Last Thursdy we took Omdillo, a 6.5 year old male cheetah, to the dentist torecheck on a tooth that had a root canal performed about one year ago. This tooth, a maxillary (upper) canine, left side, was very discoloured in appearance, thus we were worried the previous root canal had failed.

Canine teeth (they are called canine teeth, even though they are in a feline animal!) are very important for grabbing and killing prey. This cheetah will hopefully be re-released in the near future, and thus having all four canine teeth functional is very important for him to be able to hunt successfully in the wild. The tooth with the root canal was rechecked and the filling was partially replaced.

Canine tooth after root canal

Omdillo also had a mass (growth) on the left lower lip, which was surgically removed. It will be sent to a veterinary pathologist so they can tell us exactly what type of tissue it is, and whether or not it is something to worry about. The surgery went well and he is eating normally today. The stitches are absorbable and will dissolve within a few weeks, when the lip is healed. Finally, he also had three tiny (4mm) skin biopsies taken for a genetics research project being conducted in collaboration with CCF and the University of Namibia.

Skin after three biopsies taken and the skin was sutured

Thanks!
Gaby

PS Don’t hold your breath for the results of what the lip mass actually is; sometimes it takes weeks to months for us to get those results from the laboratory, unfortunately, which is very frustrating for us, too. I will update when we do get the result.