Two of these courses deal with Cheetah Conservation Biology and two and will be held from 25 August to 20 September and from 20 October to 15 November. These courses will provide conservation training for international cheetah conservationist biologists at CCF’s International Research and Education Centre, in conjunction with Cheetah Regional Strategic Planning partners.

Two courses dealing with Farmer training and community outreach –Integrated Livestock and Predator Management — are aimed at community development officers and agriculture extension officers in cheetah range countries, and will run from 30 June to 13 July, and 6 August to 20 August 2008. The focus will be on cheetah-human conflict, and the role of farmer outreach programs and community-based training to mitigate these conflict issues.

Course Costs: The course fee is supported by the Howard G Buffet Foundation and the Smithsonian Institution’s National Zoo. This includes all training expenses (room, board, educational resources, instruction fees, travel in Namibia and other course related activities) for applicants that are selected to attend the course. However, applicants are expected to cover their own airfare to get to Namibia and health insurance. All applicants requesting partial support for airfares must submit a letter justifying their financial need with their application. They must also confirm that they have already secured financial support from other sources to supplement the partial scholarship.

Eligibility and Application: The courses are most appropriate for those involved in cheetah conservation throughout the world, particularly in Africa. However, those interested in conservation biology, biodiversity inventory and monitoring, animal ecology and behavior, and protected area management will also be considered. Cheetah researchers, agriculture and community extension officers, biology undergraduates and graduates from developed countries, as well as wildlife personnel from government agencies, non-governmental organizations and universities in developing countries, are all eligible to apply for the course. Countries targeted from the SADC region are Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique, Angola, Tanzania and South Africa. Other countries include Kenya, Algeria, Iran, Ethiopia, India, Sudan, Benin, Burkina Faso, Niger and Chad.

For information and an application form, please visit this link: http://www.cheetah.org/ama/pdfs/2008CourseApplicationForm.pdf.

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After the presentation the issue was brought up that it seemed odd to have a museum focus on one species. What I pointed out is that while the focus is on the cheetah there are many bigger issues involved including habitats, prey species, and human’s role. It is important to understand that in order to have cheetahs you have to have a healthy ecosystem which is what much of our museum discusses. For example much of the focus of our farmer training courses are livestock and wildlife management rather than cheetah specifically. In ensuring the survival of a species you are ensuring the survival of an entire ecosystem.

From the conference we have made new contacts including farmers interested in dog programs, school groups wanting to visit, and the possibility of an internship through the Museums Association.

Posted by Laura Linn - CCF Administrative Assistant (Namibia)

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The National Cheetah Census was completed in 2007 (see map below) and the findings are being used to compliment a National Cheetah Strategic Plan which is being implemented this year by Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS). We continue the Human Impact studies through cheetah conflict evaluation, prey monitoring and community development in the Salama area (120 km East of Nairobi). Beginning this year (2008) there will be two programs added to CCF work in Kenya. Spoor counting and camera trapping will be conducted in the Tsavo region by an affiliated researcher. Advanced radio telemetry (radio collars) and faecal hair analysis will be used by a PhD student to compare and contrast home range, social groupings and food preference of cheetahs in the Salama area with cheetahs in the Samburu area.

The Census is vital in order to assist KWS with identifying sustainable and unique populations of cheetahs to compare with historic cheetah range in order to focus future studies and programmes in the areas where they can have the most positive impact.

Menawhile, the CCF Kenya team continues to work hard analyzing tracking and conflict data a part of its Human-Wildlife Conflict program, and working with the community.

For more information about CCF’s activities in Kenya, please click here. To read CCF Kenya’s most recent newsletter, click here. (Opens with Adobe Acrobat).

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Come, Come, Come!

Back in the late 70s, I remember watching the show “Fantasy Island” where people lived out their fantasy for a week. I used to wonder what my fantasy was, but don’t think I really came up with one. That was then, this is now.

In October 2007, thirty years later, I traveled to the Cheetah Conservation Fund and lived out my fantasy. For two weeks I worked along side a team of dedicated, cheerful and talented people. Our little group pulled into CCF on a rainy late afternoon - the first of the “little rains” had arrived. And so had we. The very next morning, we filed into the Hogwarts yard with a group of farmers and walked to the end corner. We were told the rules for the cheetah run: Stay together … Don’t bend down. The three cats stood at attention, the lure started to move and they were off! Everyone watched them intently; they completely ignored us.

But not all of the 46 resident cheetahs felt that way about us. When we appeared at Bellebeno, a 158-acre enclosed area for some female cheetahs, the cats would hear our trucks and meet us at the entrance. They knew we had food and were anxious for us to drive down the dirt road yelling “Come, come, come! Come, come, come!” We would stop the truck and then throw each a chunk of meat.

After feeding the Bellebeno girls, our group had the privilege of bone clean-up. A couple weeks before the little rains came, the cats were temporarily relocated and the staff carried out a controlled burn. Due to the high probability of a lightening strike starting a wildfire, the area had been set on fire. Everything was scorched and black. This helped us find the bones left over from weeks of daily feedings. We would return looking like we had foraged through a charcoal jungle. At night while washing my hair, I would smell like Burnt Bellebeno. How I wish I could smell that now.

Center Feeding was a bit cleaner. Here the cats are kept in smaller, fenced-in enclosures with a separate feeding pen. First we would go in with scoopers and buckets to pick up bones and any waste while the cheetahs hissed and growled and spat from the other side of the fence. Next we’d bring in and line up the bowls of meat. Then we would leave through the gate and open the guillotine. The hungry cats would race in, scoop up their chunk of meat and take off. Some of them, though, would politely eat from the bowl. Those were great photo op moments.

I brought along my new digital camera (about the size of a deck of cards) and kept it in my pocket at all times. You’d never know when that three thousand dollar picture (as one staffer called it) would appear. In my case, I was standing outside the pen area as the other volunteers went in to clean. Four male cheetahs were stalking up to the fence toward me - hissing and growling and spitting and stomping. As if on cue, they lined up perfectly with their hackles up. Click! It nearly drove me wild.

Driving is a way of life at CCF: trekking out to Bellebeno, checking cheetah traps and camera traps and rain gauges, conducting game counts and looking for spoor tracks. Riding down a dirt road - and they’re ALL dirt roads! - on the back of a truck, with a 360 degree view of the Namibian landscape, is exhilarating. But the jewel of it all is the Big Field, also known as “Little Serengeti.” It was mostly here that we saw an abundance of wildlife: red hartebeests, kori bustards, warthogs, black-backed jackals, and a variety of antelopes. The Bellebeno farm is also home to giraffes and zebras. And everywhere there are birds, chipmunks, rabbits, snakes, and other small creatures like lizards and spiders.

Yet the cutest little animals by far are found right at CCF. We were lucky enough to have arrived weeks after Tylee and Ushi - two Kangal Anatolian Shepherds - had their litters of puppies. Those energetic and adorable puppies would run up to you, pull at your shoestrings and nip at your ankles. It wasn’t hard for these future livestock guarding dogs to steal my heart.

My emotions ran the gamut. I got teary-eyed while walking into a cheetah necropsy in progress, and eventually leaving as the sight of an adolescent cheetah was too much for me. Some nights while looking up at a clear and starry sky, tears of pure joy rolled down my cheeks. I experienced tremendous sadness seeing a very old livestock guarding dog, in really bad shape, that had been returned to CCF. Petting Chewbaaka, Kanini and littleC - and listening to Kanini’s thunderous purr - was amazing. Sheer exhaustion felt so pleasurable after a hard day’s work. Never in my life have I worked so hard and enjoyed it so much.

There was, of course, administrative work to be done. My official assignment was to enter the feeding logs into an Excel spreadsheet. I also worked in the Clinic doing filing, and spent a couple hours in the Center’s gift shop straightening up and restocking the shelves. Each and every task, no matter how small or how challenging, was cherished.

Volunteering at CCF was one of the greatest experiences of my life. When I think back (and I often do!) I am so thankful to have been there. Was it a Fantasy Island? In some ways it was. But more than that, it was an amazing opportunity to help save the wild cheetah just by being there. And I can’t wait to do it all over again.

Technorati : volunteer cheetah namibia africa wildlife conservation

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My stay in California was successful. I stayed with former Earthwatch volunteers, Heidi and her daughter Emily, who were at CCF during 2007. They live on a beatiful farm with a vineyard in Woodside. We talked about vineyards alot. She has a smart partnership with the wine company, who are responsible for prunning and harvesting of the grapes. She has similar problems with birds as does CCF and drapes netting over the vines when the fruits are about to ripen.

I gave a brown bag talk at the San Fransisco Zoo for about 40 zoo docents and staff. They do not have cheetahs there but have other large cats such as tigers, lions, snow leopards and fishing cats. The participants were overwhelmingly interested in the
CCF presentation - lots of questions. My second presentation was at a pizza party in Palo Alto. This event was arranged by the Wildlife Conservation Network (WCN). Both Laurie’s parents were present. It was more of a cheetah family event since our main donors and supporters were present. I also had the opportunity to meet members of the CCF USA Board of Trustees.

I arrived safely in Phoenix, AZ Arizona and spent the afternoon helping David Bluestein (the Run for the Cheetah director) with setting up the course. On Friday, I will have a brown bag presentation at noon and a conference call with my team Jaguar.

Defenders of Wildlife has requested that we develop cheetah education materials for kids for their website before August.

I am participating in the Cheetah run on Saturday, 26 April. We are hoping for many runner! My flight back to Namibia will be on Sunday 27th.

Regards,

Matti

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Hi

I arrived safely here in California - San Jose. I met Vicki and Sharon, past Earthwarch volunteers with CCF in 2007. Yesterday I went to an early Earth Day event at the Westwind Barn with Barbara and Rob Dicely and had dinner afterwards.

At the Cincinnati Zoo, I gave a presentation to the 50 zoo staff, volunteers and a school group that showed up. I also went to visit a school in Bethel where I gave a presentation to 450 kids (ages 5 - 8). That was a lot of energy there given the short attention span, but i made it more interactive. Veronica, who is a teacher at the school, donated A LOT of art supplies which se will ship to CCF Namibia. My stay in Columbus was great and Patty Kuun was very useful.

Regards,

Matti

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Learn about our latest batch of eight puppies donated to farmers, or the new puppy just arrived from Holland — Annual physicals were conducted in record time on all of CCF’s 47 non-releasable cheetahs while training two vets from the Kenya Wildlife Service — Two male cheetahs captured nearby contributed to the Cheetah Genome Bank — Farmers, schools, volunteers and visitors have kept us busy as we continue to teach them about cheetah conservation — and the capture of another cheetah and her cub gave us an opportunity to teach a Polytechnic group of agriculture students how one farmer’s failed predator control caused another livestock loss. So much has been going on !!!

Find out where Dr. Laurie Marker will be during her May trip to Europe and the US –where she will receive two prestigious awards, and read about her February travels in Cameroon and the U.S. Learn about our latest Run for the Cheetah success in Chicago with 700 runners, including CCF Namibia’s Senior Research Assistant Matti Nghikembua.

So much is happening at CCF. We hope you enjoy the reading.

Patricia

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Got back on a Sunday night and as night was turning dark we were all in cheetah pens trying to move cheetahs that were not supposed to be together.

littleC has grown by a 1/3rd bigger. Chewbaaka has a sore foot - so he sat at the door this morning crying with his paw held up - a cut on his toe.

Worked with our Vet team on 2 of the 5 cheetah workups - vet team working like a well-oiled group - 2 vets- 2 retired nurses (volunteers), University of Florida students, 2 vet techs, 2 reproductive physiologists - the rest of our CCF team and students.

Had spitting cobra next to bedroom window in mid-morning - Bruce caught it - got spit at in eye - (he’s OK thankfully) - snake has been released - far from house.

Pouring down rain - roads over-flowing in Otjiwarongo.
Met all our new puppies - many left for new homes on Saturday - more going in the next days - still a full litter with mom - so cute!
Met Spots, our new livestock guarding puppy from Holland - cute - big! (picture right).
And got filled in on all happening here -
New tee-shirts in gift shop!
New camera traps out in new farm area.
2 wild cheetahs hanging around the Centre, dorms and our house.
Grass taller than my knees!
Lots of new goat kids and sheep lambs.

OK - its green here - and we have cheetahs coming out of our ears!

Thanks for all your help and appreciate all your help in our collective efforts to SAVE the CHEETAH.

Posted by Laurie Marker

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The day finally arrived when the cheetah was declared fit for surgery, and the local veterinarian was ready after ordering special plates and instruments to repair it. Everything went like clockwork from getting the cheetah “Axel” into his transport cage to anesthetizing him at the vet. All the vital statistics were very stabile during the 6 hour long procedure, and he had IV fluids and medications for infection and pain/inflammation control post-op.

The surgery itself was difficult due to the amount of scar tissue and bone callous formation around the old fracture, Mother Nature had worked overtime! Muscles had contracted to counteract for the change in bone positioning after the initial injury, and all required gentle retraction and stretching in order to replace the femur into a proper anatomic alignment. After several hours this goal occurred with a resounding “sthwopp” sound. After that, life was relatively easy aligning the plate on the lateral side of the fracture, placing the screws and then after flushing the area with sterile saline closing the muscle and other tissues in such a way as to support the joint and prevent the incision from opening. Since a cheetah is unlikely to stand quietly and allow suture removal without anaesthesia, sutures need to be placed under the skin and the top covered with insect preventative. Radiographs showed a superb alignment of the fracture and his recovery went very smoothly. After returning to CCF, he stayed in a quiet capture crate overnight at our clinic here.

Great cheers were had all ’round when he took and ate a small meat chunk with his medication the next day, and then upon release to a small enclosure where he will continue to recover with medication for the next 10 days. Further updates will occur as he continues to recover over time. As to his long term outlook he will become one of the permanent residents since he cannot return to the wild with this injury. However, he should have good life quality in running about here and playing with his sister.

The team performing surgery on Axel.

Written by our visiting vet Kris Kingery.

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A letter from one of the participants from our“Integrated Livestock-Predator Management for High School Learners” course, held in December 2007.

I am a student of Highlands Christian School in Windhoek, who attended the Integrated Livestock & Predator Management Training Course 2007, at CCF (Cheetah Conservation Fund). My name is Jamie Theron and this was my time at the CCF:

The week long course was a wonderful experience. Not only did I learn a lot but I also got the chance to interact with different cultures, both locally and internationally. I also discovered what a magnificent animal the cheetah is and how much is being done to save it from extinction. I never really thought of the cheetah as a special or even important animal, but after a week at CCF I completely changed the way I thought about the cheetah.

The course was mainly about cattle and goat farming, the management of these livestock and the conservation of the natural environment and wildlife. I am from the south of Namibia where we farm mostly with sheep and goats, but some of the things that I learned during the course can also be applied to sheep farming. It has also awakened an interest in cattle farming and with my new found knowledge and better understanding of cattle farming it may not be such a bad idea to start moving in that direction.

Before we left we were asked to give suggestions to future courses and I would like to suggest a course about small stock management for sheep farmers and/or a course about establishing and managing a game farm. I want to thank all the people who made it possible and contributed to making the course week so much fun and a special thanks to the ladies who provided the delicious food. I had an exceptionally wonderful, amazing time and look forward to attending future courses at CCF.

Pictured above: Learners meet littleC.

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