Collared Cheetah Update
Category: Cheetah - Research | Date: Dec 07 2007 | By: admin
Unfortunately we have experienced a setback that shows the realties we are dealing with. Two of our collared cats have died. The first was shot by a farmer who didn’t know whether it was a cheetah or leopard. This is the lack of knowledge that our education programs are meant to combat. On the positive side, upon visiting his farm to retrieve the collar we learned that he didn’t know much about the cats and is interested in attending our farmer training courses. It is great to meet receptive farmers and to know some good will come out of it.
Sadly the second cat to die was Bob, a tailless male that we had seen in our camera surveys for the past few years. This year was the first to see him without his brother.
While we do not know the fate of his brother we do know that Bob died of natural causes. He was found at a waterhole next to a warthog carcass. It appeared that the warthog injured him during the hunt.
Since then we have collared and released another male and await the fourth again. This magnificent dominant male weighing 54kgs received a complete medical workup that showed him to be healthy. We collected many samples and froze his sperm in our GRB. His release was a beautiful expression of the freedom and power of this most amazing champion of speed.
We continue to check the traps twice a day with the help of our Earthwatch volunteers.
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Donations Received
- Nov 3rd Haishin O. USD15.00
- Oct 3rd Haishin O. USD15.00
- Sep 7th Lisa M. USD27.50
- Sep 6th Haishin O. USD15.00
- Aug 3rd Haishin O. USD15.00
- Jul 3rd Haishin O. USD15.00
- Jun 15th Philip R. USD220.00
- Jun 3rd Haishin O. USD15.00
- May 8th Silvana G. USD11.00
- May 3rd Haishin O. USD15.00
- Apr 3rd Haishin O. USD15.00
- Mar 3rd Haishin O. USD15.00
- Feb 3rd Haishin O. USD15.00
- Jan 18th Ludovic L. USD55.00
- Jan 13th Alicja T. USD38.50
- Jan 3rd Haishin O. USD15.00
- Dec 3rd Haishin O. USD15.00
- Nov 19th Diane K. USD110.00
- Nov 3rd Haishin O. USD15.00
- Oct 3rd Haishin O. USD15.00
6 Responses to “Collared Cheetah Update”
Lisa, California, on 07 Dec 2007
So sad to here that Bob is gone and that the other cat was shot. I guess, the light is that the farmer will be educated and more cheetah will survive because of that. Thank you for the update. Lisa
Bruno, on 07 Dec 2007
I feel so sorry for Bob and the other cheetah, but at least the farmer is interested in the training course, and lots of good will come out of that I’m sure.
Michelle - Cali, on 07 Dec 2007
why do the farmers have to shoot to kill? Why can’t they just scare it off his land? Was he in any immediate danger? I’m sorry but I’m always upset to hear about wildlife being killed for trespassing. It’s like that here in the states as well. That seems to be the only resolution for humans. That is why we are losing all our precious wildlife.
cheetahconservation, on 12 Dec 2007
Michelle, we understand how you feel, but we need to bear in mind that livestock is the livelihood for these farmers. They cannot scare a cheetah off their land, because the cheetah will come back –it’s its territory. We need to focus on teaching farmers methods to prevent conflict with cheetah and other predators. This is why our educational programs are key in our efforts to conserve the wild cheetah.
THERESA SISKIND, on 13 Dec 2007
I STILL DON’T GET IT! HE DIDN’T KNOW IF IT WAS A CHEETAH OR A LEOPARD?! DON’T LEOPARDS DESERVE A CHANCE TOO? WHY DOESN’T HE HAVE A GUARD DOG?PERSONALLY, I DON’T BELIEVE IN LIVESTOCK FARMING AT ALL. WHAT ABOUT GROWING SUSTAINABLE CROPS…
cheetahconservation, on 13 Dec 2007
Theresa, of course leopards deserve a chance too, but they are much more dangerous than cheetah and some times people are unwilling to risk their life, their family’s or their livestock. On crops, Namibia is much too arid to sustain any meaningful agriculture.
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