C H E E TA H C O N S E R VA T I O N F U N D N E W S L E T T E R VO L U M E 1 9 • SEPTEMBER 2 0 0 3 1

Number 19 September 2003

CHEETAH CONSERVATION FUNDN E W S L E T T E R

P O B o x 1 7 5 5 O t j i w a r o n g o , N a m i b i a w w w . c h e e t a h . o r g c h e e t a @ i a f r i c a . c o m . n a

FIFTH ANNUAL

“CELEBRATION OF SPEED AND ELEGANCE”

With thee words, Dr. Laurie Marker, Executive Director of the CheetahConservation Fund, welcomed all attendees to the Fifth Annual gala dinnerand auction, “Celebration of Speed and Elegance” held at the WindhoekCountry Club on 19 July 2003. The evening’s theme, Young CheetahFriends, inspired by a design by artist Susan Mitchinson and tied into thestories of non-releasable cheetahs housed at CCF, served to remind theaudience of the importance of keeping Namibian cheetahs wild and whyCCF exists: to maintain a habitat and work with people so that cheetahscan live wild and free.

Dr.Patrick Bergin, President & CEOof the African Wildlife Foundation(AWF) was the evening’s feature andtalked about why large landscapes are thefuture for African conservation, statingthat “wildlife can support people.” Overthe 40 years since its founding AWF hasinvested in the people of Africa forconservation. Dr. Marker followed Dr.Bergin’s talk by saying , “this is whatmakes them a nice role model for CCF,because we also believe in investing inpeople..”

Once again, the popular TangenyiErkana was the evening’s Master ofCeremonies. Among the 300 guests wasthe Guest of Honour, the RightHonourable Prime Minister of Namibia,Theo-Ben Gurirab; the NamibianAmbassador to the U.S., H.E. LeonardIipumbu; and the Kenya High Commissioner, H.E. T.H. Dado. In his speech,the Prime Minister commended Dr. Marker on the role that CCF has playedin Namibia’s conservation.

An auction of 100 items donated by Namibian and international businessesand artists raised nearly N$50,000. One of the featured auction items was a18kt pink tourmaline pendant, donated by the Sand Dragon in Omaruru.These funds will assist CCF in furthering its research and educational goals,and thus accomplish its motto: “We Can Live Together.” The CheetahConservation Fund extends a warm thank you to everyone who contributedto the success of the 2003 Celebration of Speed and Elegance.

For the fourth year in a row, CCF recognised local people whose workhas made meaningful contributions to conservation in Namibia. CCF’sConservationist of the Year Award was presented to two farmers: PetrinaHîkas, a communal farmer from Khorixas, and Timm Miller, a commercial

Dr. Patrick Bergin, President &CEO of the African WildlifeFoundation, during hispresentation regarding theimportance of large landscapesin the future for Africanconservation.

Phone:+264 67 306225Fax: +264 67 306247

farmer from Helmeringhausen, who has demonstrated his ability to liveand farm in harmony with predators.

In addition, an award that acknowledges the hard work of NGOs inNamibia was presented to Mr. Garth Owen-Smith and Dr MargaretJacobsohn of the Integrated Rural Development & NatureConservation (IRDNC) for their work in community-based naturalresource management.

In this issue....

Speed –In previous centuries, we admired the cheetah for itsspeed – one which we could not hope to match. Thecheetah has evolved through millions of years to bethe fastest land mammal, and yet today is running its

most important race, for its very survival. The outcomeof this race depends on each and every one of us.

Elegance –To see the elegance of a cheetah running wild, wemust ensure this vision for future generations. As

stated so eloquently by Jonathan Kingdon: “Of the many ways of measuring land’s wealth, one of the surest signs of ecological richness and diversity isan abundance of predator species.” Here in Namibia we have the honour of sharing our land with the world’s most elegant predator of all, the cheetah.

The Right Honourable Prime Minister, Theo-Ben Gurirab, and Mrs. Gurias,the evening special guests, view the auction items with Dr. Laurie Marker(CCF’s Ex. Director), Dr. Arthur Bagot-Smith (CCF Chairman - behind)and H.E. Leonard Iipumbu, the Namibian Ambassador to the U.S. (left).

Fifth Annual “Celebration ofSpeed and Elegance”

Conservationists of the year

Cheetah Ecology & Biology

Editorials

Livestock Guarding Dogs

Community News

Education Update

International News

Thanks to our Supporters

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For the fourth consecutive year CCF paid tributeto outstanding conservation efforts by Namibians,by presenting Conservationist of the Year awards.This year, two farmers were honoured.

Petrina Hîkas was born on a farm near Kalkfeld.As an adult, she started thinking about settlingwith her family down, and managed to buy somelivestock and first farmed in a communal area nearKhorixas. In 2001 she heard about CCF’s Live-stock Guarding Dog Programme, and applied forone of the puppies. CCF staff worked with her inplacing the puppy, and is very impressed with theexcellent care she has given it. That puppy is nowone of the most successful working dogs, becauseshe managed to provide it with the right care andtraining to ensure the safety of her livestock.

CHEETAH CONSERVATIONISTS OF THE YEARCHEETAH CONSERVATIONISTS OF THE YEARCHEETAH CONSERVATIONISTS OF THE YEARCHEETAH CONSERVATIONISTS OF THE YEARCHEETAH CONSERVATIONISTS OF THE YEARPetrina is very concerned about the use of poisonwithin commercial and communal areas, and isan active member of her Farmers’ Association.She is a strong proponent of good farming prac-tices, because she knows the difficulties of farm-ing. Hers is an outstanding example of how sus-tainable farming practices can help people andwildlife to live together.

Timm Miller began farming in 1999 on hisgrandmother’s farm in Helmeringhausen, afterobtaining a BSc in Agriculture with a Major inNature Conservation. He farms with Boer andAngora goats, karakul sheep, and cattle, alongwith high densities of game species andpredators—including leopard, cheetah, jackal,caracal, and African wild cat. To prevent losses,

he was the first farmer in his area to obtain anAnatolian Shepherd from CCF. In 2002 CCF staffundertook the almost 2000km round trip toTimm’s farm to look at his dog. Timm was niceenough to arrange for our staff to address hisFarmers’ Association meeting. Interestingly,during that meeting CCF staff learned that Timmwas the only farmer in the area who did not havejackal, or other predator problems.

Timm represents an excellent example of afarmer who has implemented conservation-minded approach to the benefit of his farmingoperation, thus breaking the mold oftraditional southern farmers, and setting anexample to all Namibian farmers.

THE CHEETAH CONSERVATION FUND AND ITSTHE CHEETAH CONSERVATION FUND AND ITSTHE CHEETAH CONSERVATION FUND AND ITSTHE CHEETAH CONSERVATION FUND AND ITSTHE CHEETAH CONSERVATION FUND AND ITSBOARD OF DIRECTORS CONGRATULATE CONSERVATIONISTSBOARD OF DIRECTORS CONGRATULATE CONSERVATIONISTSBOARD OF DIRECTORS CONGRATULATE CONSERVATIONISTSBOARD OF DIRECTORS CONGRATULATE CONSERVATIONISTSBOARD OF DIRECTORS CONGRATULATE CONSERVATIONISTS

2003 CCF Conservationist of the Year AwardPetrina Hîkas (2nd from left) and Timm Miller (far right) with

CCF staff Siegfriedth !Aebeb (left) and Bonnie Schumann.

2003 CCF General Conservation AwardDr. Margaret Jacobsohn(middle) and Garth Owen-Smith(right)

with CCF Chairman, Dr. Arthur Bagot-Smith.

And thank all the supporters and sponsors of our this year’sAnd thank all the supporters and sponsors of our this year’sAnd thank all the supporters and sponsors of our this year’sAnd thank all the supporters and sponsors of our this year’sAnd thank all the supporters and sponsors of our this year’s“Celebration of Speed and Elegance”

African Curiotique &SouvenirsAmani LodgeAmy SchoemannBank WindhoekBarden MotorsBEKA LightingBeth Braker & Tom ScottBrazilianBush Made NamibiaBush Pillow, OtjiwarongoBushman Art GalleryCarol PetersenCecile RenardClaudia & Wynand du PlessisCommercial BankCrafts from NamibiaCymotDaktariDeKrone EnterprisesDie GalerieDieter VoigtsDon HaywoodDunlopEasyFit CupboardsElniconi Flowers

Embassy of the USAErnst Holtz Pty, LtdFalkennest, OtjiwarongoFerreira’s Garden CentreFlink FrameFrancois De WetGallery InternationalGamsberg MacmillanPublishersGathemann’s RestaurantGeneral Suppliers,OtjiwarongoGerald W. Leitner JuwelierHarold PupkewitzHelena BrandtHendrik VreyIdeal CreationsInsurance UnlimitedJenny’s PlaceJoe’s BeerhouseJohn RogersKameldorn, OtjiwarongoKenya High CommissionKim DonaldsonLeder ChicM & Z

Marko Spares, OtjiwarongoMartin HarveyMelle OrfordMinistry of Basic Education,Culture and SportMount Etjo Safari LodgeMud Hut TradingNamdebNamibia Breweries Ltd.NamibRand Nature ReserveNaua Naua Guest LodgeNew Creations Art StudioOkakango NurseryOmaue NamibiaOmbo Ostrich FarmOtjibamba LodgeOtjiwarongo Arms & AmmoOut of Africa Town LodgePG Glass Namibia (Pty) Ltd.Polytechnic of NamibiaRaleigh InternationalRed EarthRetief Sales PromotionRhino Park Veterinary ClinicRobyn NelRossing Foundation

Sam’s Giardino HotelSeelenbinder FursSense of AfricaShellSMC Brands NamibiaLtd.Solitaire PressStandard BankStuttafordsSuper TradeSusan MitchinsonThe Gourmet Inn &RestaurantThe Gun ShopThe Juice FactoryThe Ligthhouse Pub &RestaurantThe Miller FamilyThe Sand DragonVCS Computer CCWalton Stationery Co.Namibia, Ltd.Weylandt’s WarehouseWilderness SafarisWindhoek Country Club

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RADIO-TRACKING CHEETAHS RADIO-TRACKING CHEETAHS RADIO-TRACKING CHEETAHS RADIO-TRACKING CHEETAHS RADIO-TRACKING CHEETAHS – 1993–2000– 1993–2000– 1993–2000– 1993–2000– 1993–2000

CHEETAH ECOLOGY &BIOLOGY

Excerpt from Laurie Marker’sPhD - Aspects of Cheetah(Acinonyx jubatus) Biology,Ecology and ConservationStrategies on NamibianFarmlands.

In May 1993 the CheetahConservation Fund initiatedone of the most intensive radio-tracking programmes forcheetahs in Africa,encompassing a study area ofsome 17,928 km2 in north-central Namibia. The land usein this area is primarilycommercial cattle and wildlifefarming. At the time the studywas initiated, almost nothingwas known of the movementpatterns of cheetahs in Namibia(+90% occur on commercialfarmlands) or the home-rangerequirements of different social groups, e.g.,females with or without cubs, single males orcoalitions (male groups).

During this period, 42 (27 males & 15 females)cheetahs were fitted with radio-collars (only oneindividual in a social group was collared).

Of the cheetahs tracked, 82% were followed formore than a year, while 12% were tracked formore than three consecutive years. Lifetime,annual and seasonal home ranges, and habitat usewere determined from 2,763 fixed locations.Following release, radio-collared cheetahs weretracked from a fixed-wing Cessna 172 aeroplaneutilising a dual antenna procedure. Observationswere made on 12,4 % of occasions, providinginformation on demographic parameters.Location success rate was 87% on weekly flights.

We examined spatial differences in relation tosocial group composition, genetic relatedness,season rainfall, prey biomass, and habitat density.Specifically we asked what factors influencedhome range size, spatial distribution and habitatutilisation, and we tackled this with respect to core

home-range areas, overlapsbetween cheetah home rangesand cheetah density estimation.

Home range sizes werecompared between singlemales and those in coalitiongroups, between the sexes, andbetween all three social groups(single males, coalition males,and females.) Home rangemay be defined as “that areatraversed by the individual inits normal activities of foodgathering, mating and caringfor young”. We analysed theminimum distance moved perday and the distance movedbetween fixes, and compared

these factors between sexes, social groups andbetween females with cubs of different ages. Theaverage distance moved per day varied betweensexes, with single males travelling further on adaily basis than females or coalition males. Eightfemales, three of which had multiple litters, weretracked with cubs during the period of tracking,and ages varied from birth through independence.The mean minimum distance moved between(weekly) fixes was 10.3km, with extremes of upto 40 km’s recorded. There was a markedseasonality to tracking through dry and wetseasons as well.

Bonnie Schumann sharing CCF’s radio-trackingprogramme with visitors.

In order to distinguishcheetahs that, followingrelease, were ableimmediately to resume theirnatural movements fromthose who were translocatedoutside their familiar area,we studied movementparameters with respect torelease distance. Stablehome ranges revealed byradio tracking indicate thatan animal released up to 100km2 from its capture sitemight still be within itsnormal home range.Fourteen cheetahs weretranslocated during thestudy, of which six (21.4%)were moved outside of100km2. None of thetranslocated cheetahs

returned to their original sites of capture, andtranslocation appeared to have little effect on theirmovements. Home ranges of resident andtranslocated cheetahs were no different.

Relative to those studied elsewhere, Namibiancheetahs have very large home ranges averaging1056 km2 annually and 1642km2 over a lifetime.The home ranges in this study were on averagethree times larger than those found on the short-grass plains of the Serengeti. Ranges were sig-nificantly smaller during the wet season, and wereinversely related to rainfall. Cheetahs showed in-tensive utilisation of 50% core areas, which com-prised a mean of 13.9% of their total home rangearea.

This study would not have been possible withoutthe assistance and participation of Namibia’sfarmers. Although some of the study animals wereshot by farmers, thus frustrating research efforts,many of these farmers shared valuable informa-tion concerning the removal of these animals,broadening our understanding of the conflict is-sues on the farmlands.

Increasing our understanding of how cheetahsmove on the farmlands can greatly contribute tothe management of conflict that invariably occursas cheetahs traverse farms. Of particularsignificance is the extremely large size of thehome ranges in relation to problem-animalcontrol. In cases where livestock losses areexperienced, removal of cheetahs is most oftennon-target specific due to their movement withinhome ranges, and problems will most likely occureven if cheetahs are shot or removed. This onceagain emphasises the futility of removingpredators, versus altering livestock managementthat is far more effective in reducing conflict.

Variation of home ranges of some of the cheetahsCCF radio-tracked over time.

Home range

Otjiwarongo

WaterbergPlateau Park

Farms

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In February, a concerned memberof the public informed the CheetahConservation Fund that there werecheetahs in a very small enclosure ona farm in the Omaruru area. The cats,the individual said, appeared to be ina poor condition. CCF immediatelyobtained permission from MET toremove the cheetahs. Threeapproximately 12 month-old cheetahswere found in a 4x6 meter cage. Thecheetahs had apparently been in thesmall enclosure for more than fivemonths. The cage was filthy, withrotting carcasses and old boneslittering the ground.

These cheetahs were captured in a game campand were held for no particular reason andwithout a permit. We do not know whathappened to their mother. As they are so youngand very habituated, we are unable to releasethem back into the wild. The holding of any large

THREE YOUNG CHEETAHS RESCUED BY CCF

carnivore in Namibia is subject to approval by METand the granting of a permit to hold the animal.New and vastly improved guidelines have beenformulated regulating the welfare of carnivores incaptivity. Anyone wishing to hold a large carnivore,or already having one in captivity is urged to contactMET for a copy of the new requirements.

Two of the three cheetahs rescued by CCF

JACK IMBERT–JACK IMBERT–JACK IMBERT–JACK IMBERT–JACK IMBERT–

PilotPilotPilotPilotPilot

ExtraordinaireExtraordinaireExtraordinaireExtraordinaireExtraordinaire

Jack “at home” in his Cessna 172

Since 1993, Jack Imbert has been CCF’s radiotracking pilot. Jack has supported CCF’s effortsfor many years, joining the CCF Board of Trusteesin 1993. Besides being an outstanding pilot andphysiotherapist by qualification, Jack is also acattle farmer in the Otjiwarongo district, and hasadapted his management techniques to be apredator-friendly farmer.

Many of the CCF volunteers and staff werelucky enough to accompany the pilot and radio-tracker on these spectacular flights over the farm-lands, and on occasion over the Waterberg andaround the Omatako Mountains. Many passen-gers were not lucky enough to escape the some-times rather severe effects of motion-illness.These memories were fortunately often super-seded by memories of sightings of wild cheetahscrossing roadways, standing on the pinnacle of atermite mound, or even playing as the planeswooped overhead.

CCF’s radio tracking study represents one ofthe longest on-going studies of cheetahsanywhere, and doubtlessly few other pilots havemade such a consistent and dedicated contributionto a research programme. While CCF paid forfuel costs, Jack donated all the flying time, makinga significant financial contribution to CCF’sability to carry out this project. In most cases,flying time averaged 3,5 hours per week, withconditions varying from the very clear but windywinter months, to the turbulent conditions of therainy season in summer. The only occasions Jackwas not helping CCF with its radio tracking wason the rare times when he went on holiday, andDr. Arthur Bagot-Smith filled in for him.

Jack’s unfailing support and enthusiasm helpedto make this project the success it has been, helpingto find the answers to so many questions, andunravelling so many of the mysteries surroundingcheetah movements on the Namibian farmlands.

With help from Raleigh’s volunteers, the femalecheetahs at CCF can now be moved to the newpen, making space for the male groups in the twoand three hectare pens around the centre.

NEW CHEETAH PENNEW CHEETAH PENNEW CHEETAH PENNEW CHEETAH PENNEW CHEETAH PEN

A team of Raleigh International volunteers spent threemonths at the Cheetah Conservation Fund building a64-hectare pen for the non-releasable cheetahs at CCF.

With a punctured coffee tin serving as a shower(representing the only luxury in the bush camp),these young urbanites tackled the daunting taskof planting poles and pulling fencing with greatenthusiasm. Three different groups, each withabout 12 people, spent three weeks at a time livingand working in the bush. A sub-division of a gamecamp was already in place, so most of the mainperimeter fence was up already. This camp hasnow been cheetah-proofed and warthog-proofedby Raleigh, who also constructed a one-hectarefeeding pen and handling facilities within thelarger area. This facility will ensure that all thecheetahs can be seen when fed, and caught orimmobilised when necessary, for example, duringannual health checks. Smaller enclosures areavailable in the event of injury or illness.

The Waterberg Conservancy held its annual full moon 24-hour water hole countthis year in July. Almost 70 people assisted with this years count, includingvolunteers from Daktari, Otjiwarongo and Khorixas youth groups, EarthWatch,CCF and Waterberg Conservancy farm staff.

Waterberg ConservancyWaterberg ConservancyWaterberg ConservancyWaterberg ConservancyWaterberg Conservancy

Waterhole CountWaterhole CountWaterhole CountWaterhole CountWaterhole Count

Call CCF if you have

Cheetah Problems

067 306 225

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EDITORIALS

SHOOT OR RELEASE – AN ALTERNATIVE APPROACH- Editorial-by Bonnie Schumann, CCF

“Shoot or release it.” This is the advice oftengiven to farmers calling Namibia’s Ministry ofEnvironment and Tourism. (MET) when theyhave caught a cheetah on their farm. Manyfarmers simply shoot the captured cheetah,believing they are solving their problems this way.On the other hand, many farmers are looking forother alternatives rather than shooting one ofNamibia’s valuable wildlife resources.

In many cases, with extension work and byproviding farmers with assistance, conflict causedby livestock loss to predators can be eased. Afarmer, given the right approach, may be willingto release the captured cat and, in so doing, be anexample to neighbours less willing to do so.Without help, however, a farmer will simply shootthe cheetah as told by MET, thereby closing thedoor on any further possible conservation. In mostcases farmers are left feeling alienated and with alasting negative attitude toward, not onlypredators, but also MET.

It is all very well to have a conservation bodyprotecting our wildlife in our reserves, but whatabout the wildlife living outside the boundariesof our protected areas. Without the tolerance andgoodwill of Namibia’s farmers who inadvertentlyaccommodate more than 90% of Namibia cheetahs,

Namibia would not be theCheetah Capital of the World,let alone have a viable cheetahpopulation. Yes, farmers doaccept that by farming in Africathey face the risk of drought,disease and predators, but theconservation of these predatorsoutside protected areas is notthe sole responsibility of thefarming community. Nothingcan be done to control theweather, quite a bit can be doneto help control the impact ofdisease, and a lot can be doneto negate the impact ofpredators on livestock. In fact,Namibia is fortunate enough tohave NGOs dedicated tocarnivore conservation.

A typical example illustrating this issue is thatof a Kamanjab farmer who calledthe Cheetah Conservation Fund(CCF) in February, as she wasexperiencing smallstock losses tocheetahs. She had been advisedby the MET office to shoot thecheetahs. She would have had toshoot cheetahs indiscriminatelysince, as everyone knows,targeting only the culprit isnotoriously difficult.

Fortunately, the farmer was notwilling to accept this advice, andcontinued to make enquiries,which led her to find out aboutCCF. CCF staff discussedlivestock management to protecther livestock, as an alternative toshooting the elusive cheetahs.Livestock management techniques

include calving kraals, calving seasons, guardingdogs or donkeys, secure fencing, and herders. Inthis case the farmer was in a position to and waswilling to adopt livestock managementtechniques. She understood that without soundlivestock management in place, conflict withpredators would continue to exist. Shootingpredators might be effortless, but is counter-productive, and a serious waste of both the farmers’time and a valuable natural resource. In themajority of cases, captured cheetahs are releasable.

CCF’s research has shown that the majority ofcaptures are indiscriminate and not target specific.However, in some cases habitual livestock thievesare caught—usually old animals or cubs withouta mother, and are non-releasable. What happensto them? Should they be shot?

CCF believes that non-releasable cheetahs cancontinue to be a valuable asset and resource tothis country, and internationally—if kept alive.The conservation value of these captive carnivoresremains a controversial issue of debate. CCFbelieves these carnivores can continue to haveeducational, conservation, and economic valueoutside of the free-ranging population. CCF takesa firm standpoint that the protection of the free-ranging population is of utmost priority. Cheetahsshould not be killed or removed indiscriminatelyfrom the wild, be it by game or livestock farmers,or by people wishing to earn an income.

Many farmers in Namibia live peacefullyalongside a range of predators; they havedeveloped livestock management techniques toprotect their livestock. Farmers in Botswana,Kenya, Zimbabwe, South Africa, and elsewhereare following the example set by Namibia’sfarmers. It is up to MET officials, agriculturalextension officers, and NGOs to gather as muchinformation as possible from predator-friendlyfarmers, and to make these findings available to farmersstill struggling with predator conflict issues. It isimportant to resolve predator problems in moreimaginative ways than simply reaching for a rifle. Thisis not only our responsibility, but also a moral obligation!

Removing cheetahs simply open ranges into which other cheetahswill move. The fundamental solution to reducing predator losses liesin improving livestock management.

Most capture efforts result in the indiscriminate trapping of cheetahsthat are not necessarily causing the problem, this only compoundslivestock loss issues on farms.

CCF Welcomes

Max and Bessie Simon joined CCF in April as MaintenanceSupervisor, and Farm Supervisor, respectively. Max, a mechanictrained in Germany, is responsible for the maintenance andimprovement of CCF facilities and equipment, and assists withvarious farm tasks. Bessie is responsible for supervising animalhusbandry and farm staff.

In April, one of Cheetah ConservationBotswana staff spent a couple of weeks atCCF Namibia for continued training inaddressing farmers and cheetah/livestockconflict issues. Then, one of CCF’s staffmembers, Mandy Schumann, travelled toBotswana and together they visited severalfarms and began collecting survey data onfarming practices and conflict issues. Inaddition CCF staff inspected CheetahConservation Botswana’s new field baseof operations and cheetah pens in Jwaneng.

BOTSWANABOTSWANABOTSWANABOTSWANABOTSWANA

UPDATEUPDATEUPDATEUPDATEUPDATE

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With the long awaited law on natureconservation not yet promulgated, members ofconservancies tend to get discouraged and arelosing enthusiasm. However, some of the mainfunctions of a conservancy lie outside thestipulations of a law, so that conservancies have areason to exist – with or without the law. I willtry to justify this statement by defining anddiscussing the three words – culture, conservation,and education, in relevance to conservancies.

CultureCulture can be defined as the man-made part ofthe human environment. It is the way of life of aspecific group. It is learned rather than transmittedby genes. Human beings are trained and educatedto behave in ways that are conventional and fixedby tradition, hence the distinction between cultureand education.

The way that we deal with nature and theenvironment is part of our culture, and I don’t thinkthat we as a nation can be proud of this part of ourculture. Even with our national flower (the plasticbag) so abundantly spread across our country, wedefinitely cannot say that we have a pro-conservationculture. We rather have a utilization or over-exploitation culture, a-reap-while-you-have-the-chance culture, an if-I-don’t-shoot-it-someone-else-will culture, to name but a few.

Fortunately, culture is something that canchange and that is, I believe, where conservanciescan play an important role. To become a nationthat cares about the environment, we will have tochange our culture.

ConservationConservation is the careful management andenlightened use of natural resources. Someresources have been extensively damaged throughhuman ignorance and carelessness. It is everyone’sresponsibility to be concerned about conservationand to develop proper attitudes and practices toimplement it.

Conservation has a few enemies that I want topoint out, namely greed, ignorance andcarelessness. The killing of vultures by injudicioususe of poison would classify under ignorance orindifference, while the shooting of kudu to balanceone’s budget classifies under greed. Greed is soinherent to a free enterprise system that I doubt ifwe would ever be able to eradicate it. We shouldrather apply it correctly to be in harmony with ourgoals, and that is quite possible because the money

incentive gives us a good reason to conserve.Without a material incentive in some or other way,few people would be interested in conservation.

I once worked for a company that was obsessedwith the quality of their products and this workedthrough even to the person cleaning the floors.They really had a pro-quality culture with slogansto go with it, like “Quality pays.”

Now, how about a slogan for us, like“Conservation pays.” That is exactly what thetourism industry in Namibia is all about. Our mostvaluable commodity is the wilderness. But awilderness that is littered with plastic bags andwithout vultures and cheetahs is no wildernessanymore. Therefore, without conservation we willmost certainly lose a lot of tourists in the long run.

It certainly will not be good business if a big guestfarm is surrounded by neighbours who destroy thewilderness. It is important that as many landownersand land users as possible get a cutfrom this tourism-cake. I can think of no better arrangement for thisto become as reality, than a conservancy.

EducationEducation is a social process, designed andorganised to systematically supply the membersof a group (whether it is a tribe, a community, or anation) with knowledge, skills, and attitudes, withthe intention of utilising them to meet individualand social needs.

If we look at agriculture as an example, we seethat in spite of all the educational paraphernalia(like extension officers, farmers weeklies,agricultural colleges and faculties), a lot of stupidthings still happen on farms, but in the field ofconservation the situation is much worse.

Extension officers classify farmers as initiators,early-adaptors, late-adaptors and (Iwant to add) never-adaptors. Now,if a late-adaptor in agriculture doesnot want to adopt a better methodof production, then he is primarilythe one that is going to suffer. But,in our conservancy industry (let uscall it the ‘wilderness industry’)ignorance or indifference of a late-adaptor will cause all of us to sufferin the long run.

For effective conservation, wewill have to be more effective andefficient than past agriculturalmethods. I can think of only one way

CANAM members attending the AGM in May at the OkahandjaLodge. CANAM continues its goals in Conservation throughConservancies.

to achieve this, and that is through a ground-levelapproach. In other words, every one must becomean educator. And, once again, where can one geta more suitable arrangement to achieve this goalthan in a conservancy. What my neighbour doesagricultural-wise may not necessarily affect mebut what he does wilderness-wise will indeed –and I can play a major role to influence him. Ourfield of education should not be limited toconservancy members only. Different targetgroups could be identified for such an educationaleffort, and each group should be approacheddifferently. For instance, non-members (like thebusiness community, farm workers, and thegovernment) should be educated to becomemembers and to exploit ways to get a share of thewilderness cake. Each conservancy could becomea member of the local chamber of commerce andencourage the business people to become moretourist-friendly, because tourism is good forconservation and vice versa. There are also certainthings that farm workers should know aboutconservation and tourism, and the effect of theseon our future, but it is important that there shouldalso be an incentive for them.

ConclusionThe three words, culture, conservation, and educationare intertwined. We can’t just sit and wait. We mustplay an active role to establish a pro-conservationculture in our country. We must become much moretourist-friendly because the profits that go with it giveus an ideal incentive to conserve. Conservation willdefinitely pay. Each of us should become an educator,all the different target groups should be addressed,and CANAM should play a leading role in this regard.

NAMIBIAN WILD DOG PROJECT INITIATEDThe African wild dog is the second most

endangered large carnivore in Africa after theEthiopian Wolf and the most endangered largecarnivore in Namibia. Perhaps only 3000 animalsremain in the wild, Namibia’s population has beenestimated to be around 500 individuals, allexisting in the isolated northeast of the country.

Being killed by farmers, habitat loss, anddisease contracted from domestic dogs are allcontributing factors to the dog’s drop in numbers.While wild dogs undoubtedly kill livestock undercertain conditions, research has shown that theirimpact is small compared to livestock losses fromdisease, ingestion of poisonous plants, stock theft,and predation by feral dogs, jackal, and hyena.Wild dogs are frequently blamed (and subsequently

persecuted) for large numbers of stock from beingseen in the vicinity of farmlands when the truecause of livestock loss remains unverified. Inresponse to the need for wild dog research andconservation, the Namibian Nature Foundationhas recently initiated the Namibian Wild DogProject (WDP). The aim of the project is toinvestigate human-wild dog conflict along withother threats to wild dog conservation, whiledeveloping means for mitigating these threats.

The initial study area is the emerging communalconservancies of Otjozondjupa and surroundingcommercial farmland. The Cheetah ConservationFund is working closely with the WDP to developcollaborative approaches to conservation based onthe common objectives of research and education.

Earlier in the year, the predator sub-group in theOtjozondjupa region—comprised of the CCF, WDP,and the Rare and Endangered Species Trust (REST),joined efforts to collect predator information in thefour emerging communal conservancies of theeastern area of the Otjozondjupa region. The groupdeveloped a standard questionnaire to focus onpredator and wildlife sightings, densities, andfarmers’ attitudes. The questionnaire will look atlivestock management practices, and will providebaseline information upon which appropriatemeasures regarding predator issues can be devised.For more information on this project, contact RobinLines by cell phone: 081 2772 333, or email atwilddog@mweb.com.na

BRINGING TOGETHER CULTURE, CONSERVATION AND EDUCATION- Editorial By Hannes de Haast, Etosha Conservancy

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RAISING A GUARDING DOG – SUCCESS OR FAILURE?

LIVESTOCK GUARDING DOGS

What makes a dog a successful livestock-guarding dog? Although there are factors such asbreeding, and training, which contribute to a setof golden rules that should be followed whenraising a livestock-guarding dog, the secret to asuccessful working dog is its owner! An ownerthat is in touch with his dog’s development, health,and progress is the key to ensuring the success ofthe dog.

Just as young growing children go throughspecific developmental stages, so do all animals.Any parent can tell you about the importance ofbonding with your baby, the terrible twos, thedreaded teen years and so on, until maturationtakes place – and the raising never really ends.Raising working dogs is no different.

The Anatolian Shepherd was imported intoNamibia by the Cheetah Conservation Fund. Thisbreed was selected as it ranks amongst the top thirdof the most successful large working breeds, andit comes from a similar climate to that of Namibia.Most importantly, it has an advantage over themany local breeds and traditional mongrels, in thatit is formidable in size and has the courage tomatch – important when facing predators such asleopard and cheetah. The Anatolian Shepherd isalso rapidly gaining popularity amongst SouthAfrican farmers.

However, the Anatolian Shepherd is not awonder-dog that can be thrown together withlivestock at any age and left to its own devices. Acertain amount of effort and serious commitmentare required from working dog owners.

The golden rules to raising a successful workingdog can be summarised as follows:

1. OWNERA successful working-dog owner should be:• dedicated to making the dog a success;• available to monitor the dogs progress and guide

its development;• willing to invest time and money into the dogs

health, welfare, and development;• patient and understanding of dogs quirks and

needs2. BREEDWhen selecting a livestock-guarding dog, anowner needs to ask:• What are the main predators the dog will need

to defend the livestock against?• What function have the various available breeds been

developed for, i.e., working, herding, hunting, etc?• What are the advantages/disadvantages of the

various breeds and their sizes?• Does the dog come from a proven working line?

Where the problem is smaller predators such asjackal, many of the smaller traditional mongrels,as well as some of the herding breeds will do.Where larger predators such as leopard andcheetah are a problem, then a larger dog will berequired. The first step to consider is finding adog that comes from a proven working line. Thisis not a guarantee that the dog will succeed, but isthe first step along the way, as genetics can play arole.3. BONDINGMost literature suggests that the critical bondingstage for puppies takes place between six andtwelve weeks of age. Therefore, the dog shouldbe living with what it is expected to protect, fromthe age of 8 to 16 weeks. Ideally, thepuppy should be born amongst livestockand raised with them for the rest of itsworking life. Taking an older dog from ahome where it has been bred and raisedwith a family, and putting it with live-stock, is a recipe for failure.

If a dog has been born and raised withgoats, it will not easily develop an attach-ment to a flock of sheep. The livestock adog is raised with must be considered itsfamily. Dogs should never be movedfrom their first herd, so make sure youknow which herd you want them withwhen you place the dog. New livestockmay be brought into a herd but the dogshould always remain with a core group it canidentify with, especially if they are animals that itgrew up with.

When new livestock are brought in, doremember to integrate them gradually. Some dogs,the Anatolian Shepherd being no exception, willrecognise strange livestock as not being part oftheir “family” and they may try and chase themaway, causing injury. Take kraal manure and rubit into the new livestock and keep them amongstsome of the herd for a few days before allowingthe dog access. If you feel more than one dog isnecessary to protect the herd, first acquire one andestablish it as a successful working dog, beforeacquiring a second dog. Raising two puppiestogether may result in them bonding with oneanother and not with the livestock.

4. RAISINGA livestock-guarding dog should never beseparated from its herd. When still too young towalk out, some members of its herd should alwaysbe left with it in the kraal. When still a puppy,lambs or kids are best as the dog then grows upwith them and there is mutual acceptance andbonding.

Adult sheep or goats can be quite aggressivewith unfamiliar puppies, so protect the puppy untilit is mobile enough to avoid them, and the adultlivestock have had a chance to become accustomedto the dog. The puppy can be confined in a penwithin the kraal when the herd comes into the kraalin the evening. Later, a doorway can be created

for the puppy to come and go but which is too lowfor the adult livestock to access. The pen can alsoserve as a feeding pen for the dog, so that thelivestock do not take its food. Ensure the dog hassome supervised contact with the livestock whenbirthing takes place. Older puppies may becomeexcited with newborn lambs, often attempting toclean newborn livestock (this can assist positivelywith bonding). However, in the process, theysometimes actively prevent the newborn’s motherfrom reaching it. Therefore, allow the puppiesaccess to newborn livestock but do supervise themin the beginning.

Puppies should start accompanying livestock atabout three months of age but should not be madeto walk too far or for too long in the beginning.As the puppy becomes fitter and its feet toughen

up, it can walk for longer periods. A dog that isexhausted and foot-sore is not going to want towalk out. Ensure the dog is lead trained at thisstage, and that some livestock accompany it ifbrought back to the kraal.

5. TRAININGAt three months of age and again around sixmonths, some breeds of dogs go through a veryplayful stage. They may chase livestock around,usually in the early morning and evening hours,when energetic and bored in the kraal. The ownerneeds to be on the lookout for these stages, as withlarge breeds like the Anatolian, a six-month-oldpuppy can actually play livestock to death. Acertain amount of playfulness indicates bondingand that the dog is viewing his livestock ascompanions. However, an owner shouldreprimand the behaviour when observed, so thatit does not become too boisterous. As a precautionagainst damage, boisterous dogs can be put on arun-wire or penned within the kraal if adequate supervisionis not possible. When installing a run-wire remember:• Always ensure the dog has access to water and

shade;• Use a lightweight chain with a swivel clip;• Ensure the dog cannot reach and try to jump over a

fence, or become wounded around any support poles;• The pegs to which the runwire is attached should

be secured below the surface of the ground, toensure the chain does not get caught on it

Anatolian puppies on their way to their new home

STORY CONTINUED on page 8

Tim Miller with his Anatolian Shepherd nearHelmeringhausen

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COMMUNITY NEWS

In March community members participated increating cheetah works of art in Otjiwarongo. Twomodels of cheetahs were placed at the Pick ‘n Payand Spar centres, and members of the public wereinvited to display their artistic talents by paintinga square on the fibreglass models. To paint asquare, one paid N$ 5; over 50 squares werepainted on each model. Many adults sponsoredsquares so that local children could paint on thecheetahs.

The Otjiwarongo Tourism Forum thanks localbusinesses that supported the community event,including General Supply and Pupkewitz, fordonating paint and brushes, and Pick ‘n Pay andTheo’s Spar for allowing the event to be held ontheir premises.

These two cheetahs, now called “CommunityCheetahs,” are part of the 30 cheetah models inthe city’s Meetah Cheetah campaign. MeetahCheetah involves displaying individuallydecorated cheetahs throughout the town topromote tourism.

For more information, contact the OtjiwarongoTourism Information at (067) 303830 or CheetahConservation Fund at (067) 306225.

OTJIWARONGOOTJIWARONGOOTJIWARONGOOTJIWARONGOOTJIWARONGO

PUBLIC PAINTSPUBLIC PAINTSPUBLIC PAINTSPUBLIC PAINTSPUBLIC PAINTS

CHEETAHSCHEETAHSCHEETAHSCHEETAHSCHEETAHS

Face to face – community conservation in action

OSHANA YOUTH CHOIROSHANA YOUTH CHOIROSHANA YOUTH CHOIROSHANA YOUTH CHOIROSHANA YOUTH CHOIR

The Oshana Youth Choir, a 25-member group fromnorthern Namibia, performed for the CCF staff onMay 27. Their visit to the Otjiwarongo area wascoordinated by CCF staff member SiegfriedthBandu !Aebeb, and CCF volunteer Richard Urfer.The choir also performed at Pick and Pay inOtjiwarongo, and at Harry Schneider’s farm,presenting HIV and AIDS information in musicalform, as well as music from different cultures inNamibia. Siegfriedth commented, “Otjiwarongo andCCF have enjoyed the performance by the youngpeople. We’re hoping they come back in the future.”

Namibian Defense Force spent a morning at CCFlearning about cheetahs and their role in a healthyecosystem. This distinguished group are based atOtjiwarongo during their training.

DOG FOOD DONATION

CCF wishes to thank Scientific Veterinary Diet (SVD) - World ClassNutrition at Affordable Prices, for supplying Starter Packs for ourpuppies, which include a 2kg-bag of puppy food, and a feeding bowl.Our special thanks to Birgitta Birgitte Bartsch for ensuring that CCFdogs have a supply of food. Birgitta can be contacted by anyone inter-ested in purchasing SVD food, at 081 248-4856.

• A dog should be lead trained and accus-tomed to being restrained before being puton a runwire.

A good livestock-guarding dog maysometimes injure livestock through boisterousplaying but they very seldom eat accidentallykilled livestock. If this occurs, however, anowner needs to consider:• Diet – is nutrition and calcium content

adequate for a growing, working dog,especially if it is a large breed?

• Who is feeding the dog, i.e., is the dogreceiving the food intended for it?

• Is the dog teething and just chewing onwhat is available? A dog confined in akraal with nothing to chew on may alsoresort to chewing on lambs’ ears! Do en-sure you provide bones or rawhide for the

STORY CONTINUED from page 7

dog to chew on at all times.• Is the dog being adequately supervised?Note, the dog should never be taken out ofthe kraal and away from its livestock.6. DIETWorking dogs should be fed twice daily.They work day and night so two smallermeals are best. Remember; do not send adog out in a tough hot climate on a stomachfull of dry pelleted food! Always soak foodin water before feeding in the morning, asmany areas do not have water for the dog toaccess in the veld. For large breeds ofworking dogs, mieleiepap is not an adequatediet. A working dog’s diet can besupplemented with mieliepap, rice, cookedbones, milk, etc., but the bulk of the dietshould be a good brand of pelleted food.

OTJIWARONGO YOUTHOTJIWARONGO YOUTHOTJIWARONGO YOUTHOTJIWARONGO YOUTHOTJIWARONGO YOUTH

FORUM’S VISIT CCFFORUM’S VISIT CCFFORUM’S VISIT CCFFORUM’S VISIT CCFFORUM’S VISIT CCFYouth Forum is a Youth Development Programof the National Youth Council of Namibia andDirectorate of Youth Development. The projectaims to inspire youth from all backgrounds to dis-cover their full potential by working together onchallenging environmental and communityprojects in Namibia. Youth participating inprojects at CCF have the chance to gain new skillsand enjoy a multi-cultural experience, while theircontribution in terms of local knowledge, history,and culture is welcomed and valued.

The Otjiwarongo Youth Forum visited CCF inFebruary and March of this year. They helpedconstruct a 64-hectare holding pen for cheetahs,and also cleared the bush in other holding pens.In between working, the groups participated in

CCF’s environmental education programmes.Over the past five months CCF has hosted fouryouth forums with about 20 members each. Intotal, the Community Development Division ofCCF has reached 795 individuals throughinformation-sharing meetings with communities,conservancy members, and the general public.

Anyone wanting more information on theseprogrammes should contact theEnvironmental Education Unit (Ministry ofHigher Education, Training andEmployment Creation, Sub- DivisionDirectorate of Youth Development) bytelephone at: 061-210658, or call the CheetahConservation Fund, and ask for SiegfriedthBandu !Aebeb.

Defense ForceDefense ForceDefense ForceDefense ForceDefense Force

learns aboutlearns aboutlearns aboutlearns aboutlearns about

cheetahs at CCFcheetahs at CCFcheetahs at CCFcheetahs at CCFcheetahs at CCF

C H E E TA H C O N S E R VA T I O N F U N D N E W S L E T T E R VO L U M E 1 9 • SEPTEMBER 2 0 0 3 9

COMMUNAL CONSERVANCIES TAKECOMMUNAL CONSERVANCIES TAKECOMMUNAL CONSERVANCIES TAKECOMMUNAL CONSERVANCIES TAKECOMMUNAL CONSERVANCIES TAKE

INNOVATIVE APPROACH TO PREDATOR PROBLEMSINNOVATIVE APPROACH TO PREDATOR PROBLEMSINNOVATIVE APPROACH TO PREDATOR PROBLEMSINNOVATIVE APPROACH TO PREDATOR PROBLEMSINNOVATIVE APPROACH TO PREDATOR PROBLEMS

The Elephant Corner Conservancy recentlyinvited a team from the Cheetah ConservationFund to address members and share ideas onpredator issues. CCF was well received with aturnout of 56 members, many having travelledfar distances to reach the meeting.

The conservancy invited CCF because it isinvestigating alternative solutions to predatorconflict, with particular reference to the cheetah,and has included predator conservation in theirconservancy mandate. However, in order topromote tolerance of the cheetah by thecommunity, livestock conflict issues need to beaddressed.

As its name proclaims, the Elephant CornerConservancy boasts of a healthy population ofelephants. The presence of elephant and theirassociated problems is an interesting one, as itparallels the problems farmers have with cheetah.In the case of elephant, damage is caused whenelephants raid vegetable gardens and damage

water points and other infrastructure, and kill orinjure livestock at water points. These problemsare being addressed by building protection wallsaround the water points, providing alternativewater points for the elephants, and combininggardens into communal areas and electrifyingthese. In this way, through improved managementand progressive thought, planning, and action,conservancy members are looking beyond simplyregarding elephants as a liability. Alternativeapproaches allowing the presence of elephants canalso be rewarded by increased developments inecotourism.

The complicated issue of compensation forlivestock losses to cheetah was also raised at themeeting with CCF. The members agreed that suchschemes are open to abuse and do not solve theproblem of poor livestock management. Predator-loss compensation schemes have beenimplemented around the world, but have seldomsucceeded in solving the predator conflict issues.Addressing livestock management issues and

sharing information with farmers has often provedfar more successful.

The Elephant Corner Conservancy isn’t the onlyone interested in predators. The CommercialBank of Namibia’s Go Green Fund recentlyapproved a grant to support wild dog research.The wild dog is another predator with a historyof zero tolerance, and yet it has the potential ofbecoming a valuable asset to the easterncommunal conservancies. This area cannot boastelephant or rhino to attract tourist visitors, but itdoes have wild dogs frequenting the area. Manysay that the wild dog is now one of the mostsought-after sights for tourists visiting Africa.

As with the elephant and the wild dog, the cheetahhas historically been regarded as a liability. Manycommunal conservancies are now asking: “Howcan we protect our livestock and turn this predatorinto an asset that will benefit the conservancy andits members?” We all have to work together tofind the answers.

INTEGRATED LIVESTOCK AND PREDATORINTEGRATED LIVESTOCK AND PREDATORINTEGRATED LIVESTOCK AND PREDATORINTEGRATED LIVESTOCK AND PREDATORINTEGRATED LIVESTOCK AND PREDATOR

MANAGEMENT COURSE PRESENTED AT CCFMANAGEMENT COURSE PRESENTED AT CCFMANAGEMENT COURSE PRESENTED AT CCFMANAGEMENT COURSE PRESENTED AT CCFMANAGEMENT COURSE PRESENTED AT CCF

The Cheetah Conservation Fund, in collaborationwith RISE Namibia (Rural-People’s Institute forSocial Empowerment in Namibia), presented atraining course titledIntegrated Livestock andPredator Management at CCFin August this year.

The course was attended by 42participants, consisting of 35shepherds (community gameguards) representing five com-munal conservancies, fourMET extension staff members,two RISE staff members, andone CCF staff member. Thefive communal conservanciesrepresented were =Khoadi //Hoas, Tsiseb, Doro !Nawas,Torra and Otjimboyo. CCFinitiated the course followingrequests for training from some of the commu-nal conservancies CCF visited earlier this year.Otjizondjupa Regional Councilor, the HonourableCouncilor Lukas Hifitikeko opened the course onMonday night, while NACSO (Namibia Com-munity Based Natural Resource ManagementSupporting Organisation) helped sponsor thecourse.

During the three-day course topics ranging fromcorrect predator spoor identification, livestockmanagement to reduce losses, livestockhusbandry and wildlife management werecovered. The 42 participants were given theopportunity to put theory to practice and test theirtracking skills by investigating mock predator killsites in and around CCF’s goat kraal during

practical training sessions. Spurred on by DonMuroua’s (of RISE) convincing performance ofan irate farmer who had just lost a prize goat to

an unknown predator, teams of participants usedtheir Predator ID Sheets developed by REST(Rare and Endangered Species Trust) to figure outwhich predators had taken the livestock.

Johan Britz, CCF’s farm manager, put participantsthrough their paces in the lecture room and kraals,looking at livestock quality and selection anddiscussing ways to improve calving percentagesand ways to reduce livestock losses to predators.Dr. Arthur Bagot-Smith tackled livestock healthand disease issues with participants, while HarrySchneider-Waterberg, chairman of the WaterbergConservancy, discussed integrating livestock andwildlife management in conservancies and thevalue of conservancies. CCF’s Fanuel Ekondo dealt with the selection

of livestock guarding dogs and MandySchumann lectured on correct predator IDincluding looking at killing techniques and

spoor identification. Field tripsincluded an afternoon visit to RESTwhere Maria Diekmann discussedthe plight of the Cape Vulture inNamibia, the role of scavengers andthe effects of the injudicious use ofpoisons on the environment.

Participants filled out questionnairesboth at the beginning and at the endof the course, to help CCF assesshow much participants had learned.Participants also completedquestionnaires during practicals,which were reviewed by the wholegroup later to identify problem areas.

CCF and RISE received positivefeedback from all the course participants. Wehope the game guards, armed with this newknowledge, will go back to their communitiesand share what they have learned so thatlivestock and predator management can beintegrated into conservancy actions.

In the words of the Honourable Councillor, Mr.Lukas Hifitikeko: “Together, wildlife andlivestock can be the means of taking ourcommunities into a more prosperous future.Integrating predator and livestock managementis one of the biggest challenges facing ouremerging conservancies. Let us take up thechallenge and at the end of it say “we can livetogether” and we will prosper doing so, for thewildlife, the predators and ourselves”.

Workshop participants at CCF

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CCF STAFF VISITS THEERONGO MOUNTAIN

NATURE CONSERVANCY

In December two CCF staff members visited theErongo Mountain Nature Conservancy to discusspredator problems and share information with theConservancy members. Situated on the edge of thescenic Erongo Mountains near Otjiwarongo, thisconservancy has spectacular scenery and plentifulwildlife. But, as is the case on much of Namibianfarmland, predator conflict with livestock and gamefarming also exists in this area.

Conservancy members are looking at how to resolvethis conflict, and at the economic value of predatorsversus the losses predators cause. The ErongoWilderness Lodge, managed by Mike Warren, is astrong supporter of the ecotourism value ofpredators. CCF hopes that through exchanginginformation at meetings such as this, farmers,particularly those belonging to conservancies, willcome to terms with living with predators on their land.Situated midway between Otjiwarongo andSwakopmund, this conservancy is the ideal stopoverpoint for weary travellers looking for specialisedpampering. To contact the conservancy, or theErongo Wilderness Lodge: 264 (0) 64 570 537 oremail: eronwild@iafrica.com.na

SIEGFRIEDTH BANDU !AEBEB, CCF’s

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT OFFICER -By Linda Barnes (Earthwatch volunteer)

Pivotal to the success and preservation of thecheetah is the understanding and support of theNamibians themselves. At least that’s whatSiegfriedth Bandu !Aebeb says.

Siegfriedth, age 26, has been serving as theCheetah Conservation Fund’s Community De-velopment Officer since 2001. He is devoted togetting the word out about CCF, and believesthat CCF’s environmental awareness and infor-mation is critical to helping farmers with preda-tor management.

The goals he aims to achieve are three-pronged:economic empowerment of the locals,environmental awareness, and social change.There is a deep-rooted belief imbedded in theNamibian culture that all predators are a threat.Time and education are required to helpNamibians understand that we can live togetherand that there are benefits for everyone when weprotect the cheetah and the environment.

Siegfriedth was raised on a farm with fourbrothers in the Tsumeb district of Namibia.He was taught to hunt cheetah with dogs, orto trap and then shoot them. But when hewas 16 years old and attending the Braunfieldagricultural high school in the Khorixas area,he joined the environmental education club.Soon he was elected chairman of the club andhis perspective about cheetahs changed. Henow works to change these same perspectivesin the Namibian youth.

“I feel good about having brought so many youthand community groups from all over Namibia

(and international groups as well) to CCF,” saysSiegfriedth. “We welcome these groups atabsolutely no charge and offer accommodation,education, tours, unusual experiences with theanimals, and opportunities to help care for them.”

Siegfriedth believes that although there are noright answers to all the questions about savingthe cheetah, we all need to work together to iden-tify the answers that will meet everyone’s needsand make peace with the animals.

On the 8th of July, Otjiwarongo mayor, Mr. Otto Ipinge, unveiled the new Otjiwarongobillboard and launched the town’s official advertising campaign at a press conferencein Windhoek. During the conference, he stressed the importance of the town withregard to its location in Namibia and invited people to visit our beautiful area andalso mentioned that it was indeed an ideal town for investments. He closed by declaringour campaign officially launched and said like the billboard states: “Otjiwarongo -the cheetah capital of the World would like to welcome you.” He also handed out thecar stickers to the press that say the same message.

.....to CCF’s Education Officer, MattiNghikembua, who finished his B-Tech in NaturalResource Management at the end of last year, andto Don Muroua, CCF former employee. Matti andDon both graduated from Polytechnic of Namibialast February.

CONGRATULATIONSCONGRATULATIONSCONGRATULATIONSCONGRATULATIONSCONGRATULATIONS

Siegfriedth (centre) with volunteers during theWaterberg Conservancy Waterhole Count.

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EDUCATION UPDATE

A collaboration between the University ofNamibia, the Smithsonian Institution, theCheetah Conservation Fund and the AfricaConservation Science Centre. The firstConservation Biology & Wildlife Managementtraining course for Namibian undergraduate andpost-graduate students was held in January as a resultof a collaborative effort between the University ofNamibia (UNAM), the Smithsonian Institution ofWashington DC, USA, the Cheetah ConservationFund (CCF) and the African Conservation ScienceCentre. The four-week course was the 69th in aworldwide programme run by the SmithsonianInstitution, which previously held courses in SouthAmerica, Asia and Africa.

The financial sponsors of the course were Nedand Diana Twining of the African ConservationScience Centre. The course director was Dr. MartinMbewe of UNAM, and course co-ordinator wasDr. Rudy Rudran of the Smithsonian InstitutionNational Zoological Park’s Conservation &Research Centre.

Dr. Rudran, a lecturer in conservation biologywho has been actively involved in theseSmithsonian courses since 1981, said, “It isgratifying that lots of students from previouscourses are now heads of wildlife or conservationorganisations in their own countries. Some arenow professors and teaching (students)themselves.”The 18 course participants included students from

the University of Namibia, Polytechnic of

OVERVIEW OF THE CONSERVATION BIOLOGY AND WILDLIFEMANAGEMENT COURSE

Namibia, and representatives from the Ministryof Environment and Tourism and WildernessSafaris. Silvia Morgante from Windhoek, atrainee guide/manager from Wilderness Safaris,expected the course to give her a foundation inconservation biology and be valuable to her.“With lodge management you can always bemore environmentally aware, and one day itmay be that I run an eco-lodge myself,” shesaid. UNAM student Uazamo Koura, originallyfrom Okakarara and double majoring in biologyand chemistry, said she expected to know moreabout wildlife afterwards, adding that there isnot much opportunity for practical experienceat UNAM. Silvia and Uazamo both agreedthe course provided a wide range ofinformation, and was quite demanding at times.Some lectures, however, gave Uazamo help infocusing on what areas of study to choose andbroadening her outlook. “I’ll also be able toshare this knowledge with my people and applyit in my future career,” shesaid. Half of the course wasspent at CCF, where most ofthe practical componentstook place, while most ofthe lectures took place atUNAM.

Courses encompassedprinciples of both in-situ andex-situ conservation,includinglectures and field excursionsin genetics and fieldornithology, laboratorymodules, trainee seminars andmini research projectsconducted by the students.For example, one studentused library research toinvestigate the use of naturalresources (plants andanimals) by localcommunities while anotherresearched the geneticdiversity of bird species.

Expertise on Namibian flora and fauna wasprovided by local guest speakers such as Dr. HuBerry of the CCF Scientific Advisory Board; Dr.Ulf Tubbesing, private veterinarian fromWindhoek; Dr. Betsy Fox from the Ministry ofEnvironment and Tourism; Dr. Keith Leggett ofthe Desert-Dwelling Elephant and GiraffeResearch Project of Namibia; Blythe Loutitt fromSave the Rhino Trust; and the staff of the CheetahConservation Fund, who gave researchpresentations and practical examples ofconservation in action.

Other course instructors from the SmithsonianInstitution included Dr. David Wildt, Head of theDepartment of Reproductive Sciences; Dr. RobFleischer, Head of the Genetics Programme at theNational Museum of Natural History; Dr. JonBallou, population geneticist; Dr. AdrienneCrosier, reproductive physiologist; Jon Beadell,population geneticist; and Craig Saffoe, cheetahkeeper.

Matti Nghikembua discusses the effects of bushencroachment with course participants.

A collaboration between the University of Namibia, the SmithsonianInstitution, the Cheetah Conservation Fund and the Africa Conserva-tion Science Centre representatives shown here with the 18 courseparticipants included students from the University of Namibia, Poly-technic of Namibia, and representatives from the Ministry of Environ-ment and Tourism and Wilderness Safaris.

The Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF) inOtjiwarongo made a fun visit to the RogatePrimary School last week to present the learnerswith more books and art supplies as well as acheck for $1400. These items and the check camefrom pen pal school children in Cincinnati, OhioUSA. Through CCF, a long-term friendshipbetween Rogate and schools in Ohio has takenplace since 1994. The recent donations came fromThe Greater Cincinnati Academy, a private schoolof 30 children. One of the students, RachelSamuels, a 13 year old, raised the money throughbake sales of cookies and cupcakes at her school.The cookies sold for ($0.25 US) N$2.00 each soshe raised the money for Rogate one cookie at atime. The Rogate School will use the money fortheir school improvement projects.

ROGATE PRIMARY RECEIVES DONATION

The Cheetah Conservation Fund is a NamibianTrust dedicated to the conservation of Namibia’scheetahs and work with farmers, local

communities andschools throughoutthe country.

Otjiwarongo isknown as the CheetahCapital of the Worldand the communitycontinues to worktogether to seebenefits of havingwild, free-rangingcheetahs on the landthrough increasedtourism. CCF works

to help promote good farm management to reducelivestock loss to predators and encourages good/sustainable wildlife management.

Students proudly display donated books, posters and art supplies.

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We found out about the Conservation Biologyand Wildlife Management course through a noticeboard at the University of Namibia, and werelucky enough to be allowed to join, although wewere the only two Bachelors of Science graduatestaking the course.

At first we were rather intimidated by the otherparticipants, including those from the Ministryof Environment and Tourism, because thoseparticipants had much more knowledge (boththeoretical and practical) than we did.

The first day was quite interesting with a lot oftension in the room as initially course participantswere divided into the Ministries, companies, andinstitutions that they represented. Some peoplewere bold, sharing what they knew, while otherswere silent; we were among the silent ones. But

A PARTICIPANT’S PERSPECTIVE:A PARTICIPANT’S PERSPECTIVE:A PARTICIPANT’S PERSPECTIVE:A PARTICIPANT’S PERSPECTIVE:A PARTICIPANT’S PERSPECTIVE:THOUGHTS ON THE CONSERVATION BIOLOGY AND WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT COURSETHOUGHTS ON THE CONSERVATION BIOLOGY AND WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT COURSETHOUGHTS ON THE CONSERVATION BIOLOGY AND WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT COURSETHOUGHTS ON THE CONSERVATION BIOLOGY AND WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT COURSETHOUGHTS ON THE CONSERVATION BIOLOGY AND WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT COURSE

By Wellencina Mukaru and Ezequiel Fabiano

e v e r y t h i n gchanged after afarewell dinner wehad for Dr. DavidWoods, one of ourinstructors, and thegroup started tobond.

The course wasa month long. Wespent the firstweek at theUniversity ofNamibia fortheoretical work,and then travelledto the Cheetah

Conservation Fund’s field station for three weeks.It was a lot of fun. The theoretical component ofthe course was data collection, design, analysis,and scientific writing skills. The field-stationwork included game counts, bird surveys andDNA analysis procedures, vegetationidentification, and density determination.

Socially, the group got to know one another bet-ter, finishing the course as friends despite the factthat we started off as strangers. At the end every-one seemed talkative, and we wished that thecourse were only beginning. We finally walkedaway with certificates, new friends (both in coun-try and overseas), and a lot of new knowledge.Most importantly, the course helped many of usmake career choices.

CCF participated in the EnvironmentalEducators of Southern Africa (EEASA)conference during June 2003. At this internationalconference, CCF held an afternoon workshop thatdealt with developing predatory conservationeducation and its implementation into the formalcurriculum and non-formal education. The firstpart of the workshop included papers by CCF andCheetah OutRearch on implementing PredatorConservation in the Education Curriculum.

CCF presented a paper entitled ChallengesFacing Predator Conservation Education inNamibia, drawing on the lessons learned fromCCF’s education programme, and on challengesfacing predator conservation in Namibia, and indeveloping and implementing predator education.Cheetah Outreach Education Officer, DawnGlover presented a paper entitled PredatorConservation Education In South Africa.

PREDATOR CONSERVATION CURRICULUMPREDATOR CONSERVATION CURRICULUMPREDATOR CONSERVATION CURRICULUMPREDATOR CONSERVATION CURRICULUMPREDATOR CONSERVATION CURRICULUM

Following was a panel discussion on lessonslearned by other people involved with educationin both formal and informal programmes andpresented by Karen Knot from the IRDNC,David Sampson from NEID, and Sue Benedettefrom FAO.

The third part of CCF’s workshop was a roundtable to discuss how to get predator education intothe formal curriculum in Namibia and throughoutthe SADAC region, and how to get PredatorEducation into non-formal education nation andregion wide.

Over 10 invited participants along with CCFeducation staff joined in the round tablediscussion.

CCF student volunteer, Carola Zardo, fromCheetah Outreach in Cape Town, worked activelyon coordinating CCF’s participation in the Con-ference, as well as its workshop.

Public education and the development of anactive grassroots constituency are integralcomponents of CCF’s overall cheetahconservation programme. CCF is educatingfarmers, teachers and the public about the needand methods to conserve Namibia’s richbiodiversity, and the role of the cheetah and otherpredators in healthy ecosystems.

Between 1 January and 30 June, nearly 6900learners and youth group members attended aCCF educational programme, either at the Centreor through outreach programmes. The numberalso includes daily visitors to the Centre.

CCF’s Field Research and Education Centrecontinues to receive visitors from schools,regional youth groups, youth officials, tourists,teachers, health officials, farmers, conservationand agriculture extension officials, students andthe general public.

Organised education programmes at CCF aredesigned mainly for groups accommodated at theeither CCF’s Wilderness Camp or tented CampLightfoot. CCF hosts school and communitygroups, exposing them to different environmental

education activities including aNature Trail, team buildingactivities, games, and otherenvironmental awarenessactivities. Groups usually spendtwo nights with CCF.

Between 1 January and 30June 2003, 9 school groupsstayed at CCF’s campsites, 9schools visited CCF on site forday visits, and 5 youth groupsstayed at CCF.

All overnight groups wereaccommodated at Light Footcampsite. A total number of 326learners and 109 out-of-schoolyouth took part in the Centre-based programmes comingfrom throughout Namibia,including, Khorixas,Otjiwarongo, Oshakati,Usakos,Windhoek, Outjo,Walvis Bay and Swakopmund.

CCF staff and volunteers attended the Environmen-tal Educators of Southern Africa (EEASA) conferenceduring June 2003 including (from left) Dr. LaurieMarker , Gephardt Nikanor, Matti Nghikembua,Carola Zardo, E. Fabiano, and Ron Gray.

Ezequiel Fabiano &Wellencia Mukaru with

Chwbacka

CCF Education CCF Education CCF Education CCF Education CCF Education SSSSStaff taff taff taff taff KKKKKeeping eeping eeping eeping eeping BBBBBusyusyusyusyusy

C H E E TA H C O N S E R VA T I O N F U N D N E W S L E T T E R VO L U M E 1 9 • SEPTEMBER 2 0 0 3 13

CHEETAH CONSERVATIONACROSS INTERNTIONAL

BOUNDARIES by David Jenike and Shasta Back

SIX STUDENTS

COMPLETE

UTAH STATE’S

ROUND RIVER

STUDIES COURSE

AT CCF

Between February and May, six studentscompleted the Round River ConservationStudies course, which is based at the CheetahConservation Fund’s field station, CheetahView. Round River is based out of Utah StateUniversity and teaching undergraduates aboutapplied conservation biology and various fieldbiology techniques.

This year, five American students were joinedby one student from the University of Namibiafor their course. Two of CCF’s staff members,Amy Dickman as programme manager, andJosephine Henghali as an assistant, wereinvolved in running the course this year. Aformer Round River student, MeridithKirkpatrick, returned to Namibia to act as theteaching assistant for the course.

Projects conducted by the students focused onexamining the habitat characteristics of areaspreferentially used by cheetahs, in an attemptto learn more about the habitat selection of wildNamibian cheetahs. The fieldwork involvedmany hours of tough walking through virtuallyimpenetrable Acacia thornbush, but the studentswere rewarded by numerous exciting sightings,including several snakes, an African wildcat, andeven a close-up view of a leopard pausing towatch one of the many times that a flat tyre hadto be changed!

In addition to field projects, the students got theopportunity to assist with cheetah work at CCF,received two weeks of academic lecturesprovided by Dr. Matt Kaufmann and RomanBiek, and took both mid-term and final examsfor academic credit from their universities. Thestudents also spent three weeks in Damaraland,working with Mike Hearn of the Save the RhinoTrust (SRT) as part of a long-term project todevelop a habitat suitability model for blackrhinos in the region.

Other activities included excursions to variousparts of Namibia, waterhole counts, game drives,setting up spoor (track) stations for localcarnivores, and a visit to the vulture project runby CCF’s neighbour Maria Diekmann at theRare and Endangered Species Trust (REST). Inaddition, Trent Alvey, a visiting artist,coordinated a great weekend working with localstudents from the Okakarara Nature Club.Overall, the students received a broad groundingin Namibian culture, lifestyle, ecology, andconservation programmes.

Oceans apart, students at MasonElementary in Ohio respond withunbridled enthusiasm to theCincinnati Zoo and BotanicalGarden’s Cat Ambassador Programeducation outreach staff, while backin Namibia, Rogate School studentsin Otjiwarongo, Namibia, welcomeGebhardt Nikanor, OutreachCoordinator for the CheetahConservation Fund. These educationprogrammes in the United States andNamibia are aimed at studentparticipation in a collaborativeconservation-education programmedesigned to tell the cheetah’s story andstimulate the actions of youth in bothcountries.The partnership between the CincinnatiZoo and Botanical Garden (CZBG), and theCheetah Conservation Fund (CCF) began in theearly 1990s when Cathryn Hilker, founder of theCZBG’s Cat Ambassador Program, and LaurieMarker, founder and Director of CCF, teamed upfor the first time.

The latest collaboration builds on the experienceand already successful cheetah outreach efforts ofboth organizations, by developing student-basedactivity guides on cheetah conservation that com-plement the outreach programs. Two guides weredeveloped to target different grade levels and, asthe outreach programs do, they align with the learn-

ing standards promoted in each country. Particularattention was given to designing the guides to berelevant and accessible to youth of both cultures.Through stories and activities presented in an en-gaging and colourful context, the guides emphasisethe major concepts discussed during the outreachprograms, such as the plight of the endangered chee-tah, its importance in the ecosystem, and what can

be done to save the species.

By telling the cheetah’s storythrough hands-on activities, theguides supplement the goals of theoutreach programs. They serve toincrease knowledge and apprecia-tion of the cheetah and its role in ahealthy ecosystem, as well as gen-erate concern about the cheetah’splight. Most importantly, the guidesencourage students to play an activerole in cheetah conservation,whether it’s simply to pledge to be afriend of the cheetah, or to share the

cheetah’s story with others.

Evaluation and feedback fromteachers indicate that we are succeeding. To-gether, the outreach programmes and activityguides reach more than 20,000 young people ayear. If each of those students embraces the chee-tah and takes action on its behalf, imagine thedifference it would make in helping the fastestanimal on land win the race against extinction.

Students show their activity books after a CCF schoolassembly programme.

Students review the draft school activity guide

2002 Terra Nova Award’s winner Jan Oelofse(left) talks with two of the four finalist that werehonoured at a ceremony in January in SouthAfrica, Solomon Cedile of the YouthDevelopment Project in Khayelitsha and LaurieMarker, of Namibia. Jan Oelofse won the Awardin recognition for refining game capturetechniques.

Namibia well represented at the Audi TerraNamibia well represented at the Audi TerraNamibia well represented at the Audi TerraNamibia well represented at the Audi TerraNamibia well represented at the Audi Terra

Nova AwardsNova AwardsNova AwardsNova AwardsNova Awards

CCF Education Centreopen to the public daily 9-5.

C H E E TA H C O N S E R VA T I O N F U N D N E W S L E T T E R VO L U M E 1 9 • S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 314

Through our networking with Kenya WildlifeServices (KWS) and the farming communities,the Cheetah Conservation Fund Kenya staff isbeing frequently contacted with reports of cheetahsightings and problems. Several cases have beeninvestigated in the last six months.

UPDATE ON CCF KENYAUPDATE ON CCF KENYAUPDATE ON CCF KENYAUPDATE ON CCF KENYAUPDATE ON CCF KENYAWhere the cheetahs come from and where they

go is the question that the communites continueto ask? And why is the population declining. Onereason is that the landscape where cheetahs onceroamed freely is now a mixture of subdivided andheavily populated land, there is some tourism

activityon private land with abundantlocalised wildlife, but most areas aremainly subsistence farming land,flower and agricultural properties, andcommercial farming. CCF Kenyacontinues to develop its educationprogramme. The response has beenencouraging. Both students andteachers ask many questions, andpledge their support by sharing theirknowledge with family, neighbours andfriends. CCF-Kenya has targetedexisting environmental clubssupplementing their current activities.The East African Wildlife Society

(EAWLS), and Jomo Kenyatta Foundation haveassisted with funding and printing of the activitypages developed by the CCF Kenya staff. Friendsof Conservation (FOC) and KWS are involved inthe development of the education activities and willassist in distributing information. CCF-Kenya alsopiggybacked on a tourism awareness campaignwith FOC. CCF tourism campaign brochures (TheGreat Cheetah Census) were printed and have beendistributed to tourist lodges throughout the country.

KWS monitoring programme for cheetahs in theMasai Mara was assisted by CCF throughdeveloping biomedical protocols to ensuremethodologies are consistent. By workingtogether, CCF and KWS are laying the groundworkfor long-term monitoring of cheetah within the Parkand in farmland regions. Cheetah-sighting reportsto KWS and CCF will help determine the bestlocation for long-term monitoring. A cooperativepartnership will ensure good data collection anddetermine future funding in collaborative projects.

Workshop on Cheetah Conservation in Kenya

INTERNATIONAL N EWS

A workshop on Cheetah Conservation in Kenyawas held on the 30 of July – 1st of August at theMbweha Camp in Elementaita within theNakururu Wildlife Forum. The CheetahConservation Fund, Kenya (CCFK), organized theworkshop. Nearly 40 people attended theworkshop that brought together internationalcheetah experts and Kenyans interested in cheetahconservation, including several members of theKenyan Wildlife Service, representatives fromfour of Kenya’s Wildlife Forums, three NGO’sincluding officials of the African WildlifeFoundation and Save the Elephant Trust, alongwith the Director of the Serengeti Cheetah Project,Dr. Sarah Durant and the Executive Director of theCheetah Conservation Fund, Dr. Laurie Marker.

Since 2002, the Kenya Wildlife Service’s(KWS) cheetah group, under the direction ofresearcher Martin Mulama, and the CheetahConservation Fund Kenya, headed by MaryWykstra, have been working cooperatively to gainan understanding of the number and demographicsof cheetah in Kenya. The workshop aims were toput Kenya’s cheetah research into a global context,and to bring people together who are interestedin cheetah conservation in Kenya.

According to Wykstra, “the workshop hopesto encourage cooperation between existing andproposed projects through linkages and followingguidelines set by the Global Cheetah MasterPlan”. A Global Cheetah Master Plan, which hasprovided guidelines for collaborative cheetahstudies and international breeding programmeswas developed in 2002 through the GlobalCheetah Forum. The topics of discussion at theworkshop included Research, Management, andEducation. The Kenya Wildlife Director ofResearch, Dr. Richard Bagine, although not inattendance, sent an inspirational speech that waspresented to the workshop delegates aboutKenya’s commitment to cheetah conservation andto present the goals of KWS concerning cheetah

Over 35 workshop participants came from throughout Kenya and well asinternationally to discuss cheetah conservation in the country.

conservation/research.Dr. Laurie Marker,

Director of CheetahConservation Fund inNamibia, andrepresentative of theIUCN Cat SpecialistGroup, was the guestspeaker at the Workshopand presented informationon the Global CheetahMaster Plan, modelprogrammes developed inNamibia for cheetahoutside protected areasand the future of cheetah throughout its range, as wellas an international perspective on the difficulties ofcaptive breeding and management, althoughimportant as a backup to the wild population.

Mary Wykstra and Cosmas Wambua talked abouttheir cheetah research on ranch/farm land outside ofprotected reserves and parks focusing on the NakuruWildlife Forum area and the Machakos area. CCF’sfocus in 2002 was on the Nakuru Wildlife Forumregion in the central Rift Valley Province to evaluatepast and present cheetah sightings and conflict issues.In 2003 CCF is conducting comparative evaluationsof farming communities in other regions wherecheetah sightings are more frequent.

Several members of KWS also made presentations.Martin Mulama, Assistant Director of Research andPlanning gave an over view of the current researchprojects in Kenya. Bernard Kuloba, head researcherfor the Mara Cheetah Research Project, presentedresults from the past year’s studies, including theidentification of over 35 cheetahs in the Maraecosystem. David Konas, KWS researcher discussedhis census finding of cheetah in the Samburu andMarsabit areas. Dr.Adeela Sayyid, Curator of theNairobi Orphanage and SafariWalk and veterinarianfor the Mara cheetah research project presented theprotocols for biomedical collections and condition

of the Mara cheetahs she has handled. KWS andCCF have cooperatively initiated collection ofbiomedical samples of cheetah in the Masai Maraand developed a protocol for collection in otherregions. With increasing information on cheetah/human conflict issues it is important for CCF andKWS to continue working cooperatively to developprotocols for handling capture, sampling andrelocation of problem cheetahs.

Other talks were presented by Dr. Sarah Durantand Dr. Fumi Mizutani. Dr. Durant talked about thelong-term cheetah research conducted in theSerengeti National Park. Where Dr. Mizutani talkedabout human and predator conflict issues in theLakipia area.

Although neither KWS nor CCF currently havethe resources to conduct detailed research in allregions of Kenya, there are several individuals andorganisations that have expressed an interest inassisting with the development of research,conservation and education programmes through outKenya. In order to promote consistency in datacollection and presentation, CCF and KWS used thisworkshop as a gathering of the interested parties todiscuss cooperative programmes for the generalconservation and education for the long-termsurvival of Kenya’s cheetahs.

CCF staff and volunteers with KWS staff conductingbiomedical collections in the Mara.

C H E E TA H C O N S E R VA T I O N F U N D N E W S L E T T E R VO L U M E 1 9 • SEPTEMBER 2 0 0 3 15

Mr. & Mrs SchullenbachMr. LungMr. & Mrs. H.D. DeteringMr. & Mrs. BohmckerMr. & Mrs. HoeboomMr. BockmeulRalf RitterHarry & HannahScheider-WaterbergJack & Lilian ImbertMartin MbeweEzequiel FabianoDr. Arthur Bagot-SmithDr. Mark JagoDon MurouaRISENACSOCarla MeyerRaleigh InternationalDorothy AlbeeLinda BarnesAnnie BernardFiona BlytheLynn BonnerKim BridgesPatricia BurkeLisa BurkeJenny CampbellBrenda De La OssaFrances DerryGwendelina DuquetteMelanie FredericksLinda HardenGail HarrowerPat HinesNicole HintonElse HooijbergKathleen HudsonEric HudsonDace JohnsonSusan KroppCarolene MagnerCathy MayneJennifer MillerKatherine MillerTina NelsonJames ScobelJohn SmithymanKathleen SullivanSonja Vonderhagen

Chris WaddellRobyn WallsJo WilderDavid ZuckermanAllan MombergEmily KellyCordelia MooreLorraine BowdenRon GrayAndrea DaileyGabby DrakeJessica MacManusSue UngerKelly RichmondNisha LigonBrian CrumrineIsabelle BerubeMarc GirardCarola ZardoRichard UrferJody HackmanJudith GabeyAlicia PickeringDebra LaroeCorris KaapehiBeth SchaefferAndrew HarringtonJessica RubadoDianne GirardMalcome TaylorDunlap Tyres - Tyres 2000Busch EntertainmentCorporationYori SkuttJack Hanna and theColumbus ZooVan Rhyn Primere SkoolDeborah CunialFota Wildlife ParkHelen T AndrewsFoundationEllen KritzmanPhiladelphia ZooRaymond LeeC Heuva Junior Secondary SchoolBlutberg Farming

THANK Y OU

CCF thanks the following people, companies & institutions for their supportWilderness SafarisRosalie & Garrison BrintonCheetah OutreachMr B.E.H.G Schmidt Von WuehlischThe Green TrustFriends of Catherine and Carl HilkerCincinnati ZooChristine NevilleNicolas & Fenella DeemingLaerskool WalvisbaaiHoerskool OutjoM.T. DruittE EranBetsy FoxJulie MosenJorn MillerThe Nature ConservancyOmaha's Henry Doorly ZooThe Zoo, Oklahoma CityJack RattiDavid & Yvonne SansomeRichard WerbeBarrie WatsonVera HolneHarry HarringtonGrenada FilmsKoandeka Support GroupWild Dog SafarisAfrican Wilderness TrailsWilderness Safaris NamibiaWilderness Safaris South AfricaBoras Djpark, SwedenCotswold FoundationAndrew SabinThe Eendowment FundA.H.BloomDenise L. JacksonEster & Jerome AnselLeslie Fund, INC.Charitable Gift FundDBA BWC Photo LabsBarry & Mindy Major Family Gift FundPat & Bill MillerPaul. E. YestrumskasYanagida & Nomura

In May this year, the White Oak ConservationCenter reported their first cheetah births sired byone of the ten Namibian cheetahs that went to theUSA in 2001. The young male from Namibiabred with a hand-raised captive female cheetahfrom another zoo in the USA. Although this isthe first time this female has bred and producedcubs, she is doing very well at White Oak withher large litter of five.

White Oak, located in Yulee, Florida, has anexcellent reputation for breeding cheetahs andother endangered species successfully. White Oakis dedicated to saving endangered species throughcollaborative in situ and ex situ programmes,supporting, among others, conservationprogrammes for okapi, rhino, maned wolves, andcheetahs.The Cincinnati Zoo also reported thebirth of two cubs, their parents being two of thefour cheetahs that went to Cincinnati Mast BreedingCenter in 2001. Unfortunately one of the cubs had acleft palate and had to be euthanised. The remainingcub was removed from the mother and is being handraised at the zoo. The cub is being hand raised becauseexperience at captive facilities around the world hasshown that single cubs do not survive past three orfour days, as in most cases the mother’s milk will dryup due to too little stimulation by single cubs.

CCF congratulates the staffs of Cincinnati andWhite Oak, and looks forward to hearing about thenext births! CCF also thanks the people andgovernment of Namibia for playing a historic role byallowing the exportation of ten Namibian non-releasable cheetahs to the US. These cheetahs arestrengthening the gene pool of the species worldwide.

NAMIBIAN CHEETAHCUBS BORN IN THE USA

Donors who wish to make direct deposits

to CCF’s account may do so at:

NAMIBIA:Commercial Bank of Namibia, Bülow Street Branch,12-20 Bülow Street, PO Box 1, Windhoek Namibia,SWIFT No. CBON NA NX, Acc. No. 1609-069013-04.

UNITED KINGDOM:CCF UK - Registered Charity # 1079874PO Box 151, Godalming, Surry GU7 2XWE-mail: cheeta@appin.demon.co.ukfor direct deposit donationsSort code: 30-93-49, Acc. No. 0988105

UNITED STATES OF AMERCIA:CCF USA - non-profit # 31-1726923PO Box 1380Ojai, CA 93014 USAE-mail: info@cheetah.org

Cheetah cubs born at White Oak ConservationCentre in Florida, USA

Help support the

Cheetah Conservation FundTo join the Fund in its efforts, just mark the category of support and fill in yourname and address on the form below. Every donor receives a sticker fromCCF. Extra stickers may be purchased for N$15 each. Please tick amountand circle currency: N$/ US $/ £/ DM

Participating

Donor

Contributor

Supporter

Patron

Conservator

Benefactor

Other

Name: ..............................................................................................Mailing Address: .......................................................................................................................................................................................

Mail this form and your cheque (payable to Cheetah Conser-vation Fund) to:Cheetah Conservation Fund, PO Box 1755,Otjiwarongo, Namibia

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C H E E TA H C O N S E R VA T I O N F U N D N E W S L E T T E R VO L U M E 1 9 • S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 316

From: Cheetah Conservation Fund, PO Box 1755, Otjiwarongo, NamibiaCCF- Cheetah Conservation Fund

an International Conservation Organisation

DR. LAURIE MARKER - EXECUTIVE DIRECTORCCF IS AN INCORPORATED ASSOCIATION NOT FOR GAIN - REGISTRATION # 21/2002/341

HIS EXCELLENCY THE PRESIDENT DR. SAM NUJOMA - INTERNATIONAL PATRON

EDITORS - DR. LAURIE MARKER AND BONNIE SCHUMANN

To add your name to CCF’s mailing list, or to contact CCF, post letters to PO Box 1755,Otjiwarongo, Namibia; Tel: 067 306 225, Fax: 067 306 247, Email: cheeta@iafrica.com.na

Namibian Board of Trustees

Dr. Arthur Bagot-Smith (Chairman)Walter BöttgerMary KrugerCharles BodensteinJane KatjaviviDr. Laurie MarkerDr. Jock Orford

Namibian AdvisorsDr. R. HasselM. HillP. HaiparaI. IIthetheH. Schneider-WaterbergR. Erasmus

USA Board of Trustees

Vance MartinRobert HaasCarl HilkerChristine HemrickCharlie KnowlesJohn LukasPat Miller (Chairman)Michael SweatmanKen AdelmanDr. Laurie Marker

UK Board of Trustees

Andrew Mitchell (Chairman)Alan LesterNick LindsayDavid SpellmanPeter Stewart

International ScienceAdvisory Board

Dr. Karl AmmannDr. Hu BerryDr. Ray CoppingerDr. Richard EstesJack GrishamDr. Charles HocuttDr. Eugene JoubertJohn LukasSean McKeownDr. Laurie MarkerProfessor David MeltzerDr. Linda MunsonDr. Stephen O’BrienDr. Ian PlayerDr. David WildtTrygve CooperDr. David MacdonaldDr. Gus MillsDr. Sarah DurantDr. Sanjayan MuttulingamDr. Susie Ellif