Cheetah Conservation Fund

Category: Cheetah - Research, Cheetahs | Date: Jul 24 2009 | By: cheetahconservation

Good news to everyone, SHANTI is alive and in good health!  Ann’s theory of the boys going to Toskaan occasionally because they have picked up Shanti finally comes true. After some report from Sossousvlei Desert Lodge that they have seen six cheetahs instead of five at Toskaan, Florian saw Shanti today morning when he was driving from Aandstêr on the road to Keerweder (some few metres north of the pen. First he thought it was one of the boys but after searching and saw the five boys on the other side of the road, it surprised him when he looked through the binocular and realised it was Shanti with his collar on. He tried scanning her but he did not pick up her signals which means the collar is not working. According to Florian he clearly identified her and he is sure it was Shanti. It was impossible for her to take any photo as Shanti runs away in the long grass toward the koppie northwest of Keerweder. I think she has come up with the boys last night from Toskaan. Everyone at Keerweder was so excited to hear that she is probably alive.  Once again, the boys are back to Keerweder area from Toskaan where we left them yesterday and they marked the poles and a quiver tree near the guest house last night as usual. It seems like the Jeye’s fluid (with strong smell) that we used last time to clean all the marking in the area (wall, stoep, trees and poles) did not work at all. They were lying next to one another in the river bed near the pen as it was windy and cold today. 

Let’s thank the boys they have found Shanti for us. Now we know why they keep visiting Toskaan area.

I will be in touch soon…. 

With regards - Selma

NamibRand Nature Reserve

Cheetah Re-introduction Programme

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Category: Cheetah - General, Cheetahs | Date: Jul 12 2009 | By: cheetahconservation

We had some sad news recently. One of the female cheetahs that had a satellite collar on for the past year was found dead in a fence– very strange — she was caught around her waist – and she has four cubs, so we picked her up a few days ago and went down today to set a trap to try to catch the cubs, estimated at around 4 months’ old. The four cubs were caught  – three yesterday and one this morning. We worked on them all today ~ 3 months of age – 1 female 3 males – we will name the female Polly and one of the males Tony.

One of the males had a huge gash in his shoulder and we had to stitch him up – they have all now eaten and are settling in – we have a lot of work now to get them settled.

A couple of weeks ago we spent hours in Otji with operation on Leia – more infection with her teeth (not healed from last month) – she was in pretty critical care in the clinic but now is eating on her own and doing much better. However, Leia is in end-stage renal failure and it will only be a matter of time (and probably not that long – she is 13 years old).

Our EarthWAtch group leaves tomorrow – and much to do as our gala in next Saturday.

Finally, we are trying to raise US$50,000 by the end of August to celebrate Chewbaaka’s 14th birthday. Every donation received by the 31st August will be matched dollar for dollar. Please visit our web site to donate at www.cheetah.org.

Laurie

PS - Thank you so much for all your support. In addition to a very kind monthly donor, we have received a couple of additional donations lately that truly are appreciated.

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Category: Cheetah - Conservation Programmes, Cheetah - Research | Date: Jul 12 2009 | By: cheetahconservation

Hi, I’m Matt Solberg an intern here at the Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF) in Namibia. Growing up, I’ve always been passionate about wildlife conservation. Born in Eugene, Oregon, I spent a lot of time enjoying the outdoors. The woods became my backyard as I explored every hillside and mountain top. I dreamed of exploring distant continents and studying wildlife abroad. During my freshman year at Oregon State University I looked into travelling abroad. After attending a presentation on the CCF, I was hooked. I looked into IE3 (a global internships program at Oregon State University) and discovered several international internships abroad. IE3 matches students with host organizations who strongly support experiential education to develop internships that relate to the student’s career interests. I was amazed by previous student’s experiences with IE3. Working directly with my college, IE3 offered a chance to learn abroad while providing me with credits in my major. As a Zoology major interested in conservation and human-predator conflict, I knew CCF would offer an amazing opportunity that fit my interests.

Currently I’m using camera traps to survey predator populations on CCF’s eight farms. I was inspired to work with trap cameras after meeting Dennis Wilson, a biology professor in Phoenix, Arizona. Dennis had been visiting CCF to teach an international course and collect data for his courses back home. Intrigued by his research, I talked with Dr. Laurie Marker about my interests and the possibility of working with trap cameras. Days later, Dr. Marker introduced me to a three month project working with trap cameras alongside Matti Nghikembua (CCF’s Senior Research Ecologist) and Ryan Richards (the Intern Coordinator at CCF).

The camera trap study focuses on predator behaviour around sites known as play trees.  Play trees are large sloped trees commonly visited by cheetahs and leopards. Predators often mark territory, leave scat, scratch claws, and survey the savannah at play trees. With 36 trap cameras and 18 stations, we set up 2 cameras at each site. These cameras allow us to record what animals live in the area, how numerous they are, how they are living amongst farmers, and what condition they are in. The cameras are set eight meters apart on posts 75cm high (predator height). This allows us to see passing wildlife and identify distinguishing marks on the animal. Using these unique marks we can determine how often the particular organism visits the site. The trap cameras provide a non-invasive approach to data collection. The information collected helps CCF understand how local wildlife coexist with agricultural communities.

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