Gobabis to Otjiwarongo: The Translocation of Four Females

On 7 November 2012, Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF) staff was called to pick up five cheetahs that were caught inside traps set out by a farmer in the Gobabis region of Namibia (~ 6 hour drive from CCF headquarters).    Before the CCF team arrived, they were informed that one of the cheetahs, a young female, died under unknown circumstances.   The farmer led the team through a maze of gravel and dirt roads, and finally arrived to the site of the captured cheetahs.  A chicken coop, a water trough, a metal trap-cage and a group of four highly stressed female cheetahs were what we found.  After assessing the situation, we decided to capture the cheetahs into wooden boxes in order to transport them back to CCF.

Considering the heat of the day and the stress level of the cheetahs, the team worked as quickly as possible, eventually moving all 4 cats, one at a time, into the trap cage and then to the the transfer crate.  The long journey home was not the end of the day.  Around 21:00, CCF staff were still working up two of the females.  One was an older female (3-5 years old)  and the other was an older cub (~18 months).  The two cats appeared to be in decent health.  The following day, the other two females were worked up.  One was a cub, which was in good health, the other was an adult female, whose condition was not as fortunate.  This female had old injuries on and in between her paws and pads.  Due to the degenerative state of her paws, Otjiwarongo veterinarian, Axel, assisted in the amputation of one of her toes, which had been severely broken.  After the procedure, the cheetah recovered normally in a safe, cemented quarantine pen, to prevent her from moving too much and possibly worsening the wounds on her feet.

The amputee female, who was given the name “Toeless,” was scheduled on 15 November to go to the dentist to have two root canals performed on her canines as well as an incisor removal  She was taken to Otjiwarongo, and the procedures were carried out by human dentist and loyal friend, Dr. Profitt.  Under anaesthetic  the condition of her paws was assessed, and although they were getting much better, she still needed more time to heal.

Three weeks later, “Toeless” was anaesthetised gain, but this time Dr. Profitt came to CCF to perform another root canal.  Also during this time her pads were checked again and they were looking much better!  She was fitted with a satellite collar and the bonding process between her and her previous chicken coop mates began.  The four females were all in one pen the following day, and all went well.  “Toeless” seemed anxious to have a large pen that she could move around in, so she ran up and down the fence line, while the “Mom” and two cubs hid in the grasses and watched.  There was very little interaction between the females as a whole.

The next day, on 8 December 2012, CCF staff captured “Mom,” the other adult female, who may or may not be the mother of the two older, near independent cubs.  She was anesthetised and also placed with a GPS/VHF combination collar.  After a speedy recovery all four females were once again reunited.  We kept the foursome together for another week and tried to bond them by having them share several warthog carcasses.  The two adult females showed promising wild behaviours as they quickly opened up the carcass, which can be a very difficult feat for the inexperienced.  The two cubs were more hesitant and usually waited to feed after the carcass was already opened.

Finally, on 15 December, the four females were once again captured in transport crates and taken on a 45 minute drive to CCF’s soft-release camp, Bellebenno.  This 4,000ha (nearly 10,000 acre) game camp is filled with premium game for these cats to feed on.  Oryx, eland, kudu, red hartebeest, steenbok, duiker and warthog are all on the menu, and this time of the year is calving season.  We decided on this location as it would give the females the best chance at survival, especially if they all split up.

A warthog carcass was placed in the centre of the four crates that temporarily held the cheetahs.  The release was in place.  The crate doors were lifted and out ran the four females, in four separate directions, without even a glance at the free warthog.  The CCF team quickly departed as to not interfere anymore with their behaviour.

In the following days, the two adult females’ satellite collars fed CCF staff information on their whereabouts.  They remained separate from one another and “Mom” went onto our neighbours property after the first day of release.  The second day, “Toeless” also left Bellebenno, but returned on day threee.  The two cubs' locations are unknown as they were not fitted with satellite collars.  Hopefully, several of CCF’s camera traps and ground tracking team will be able to observe the cats in the future, to assess their condition.

All releases are complicated and must be carefully thought out, since each cheetah is different. As these four females were all wild prior to being captured, and are deemed to be healthy, our expectations on their ability to survive are high. With this, we are happy to know that four more cheetahs are back where they belong –in the wild.   The survival of the species depends on it.  

Ryan Marcel Sucaet
Assistant Cheetah Keeper & Research Assistant
sucaetry@gmail.com

"S" is for Serval

CCF has carried out a number of camera trapping surveys, and also maintains a network of cameras positioned for ongoing monitoring of the wildlife on our land.  While we are mainly focused on cheetahs, there are many other species out there, and the cameras will trigger no matter what passes them by.  In this series of weekly blog entries, I will use these pictures to illustrate some of the wealth of animal life in Namibia - one species per week.  I hope you will enjoy seeing a little more of our world here in the bush.

I'd like to make a special appeal to everyone who reads this blog. Please think of CCF this Christmas. Many of our camera traps are beginning to feel the ravages of time and will soon need replacement. Some have been out in the bush in the heat and rain for three continuous years now, and have taken hundreds of thousands of pictures. However, I very much doubt they'll all survive another year. We have recently received two brand new camera traps from our generous donors in Germany, but many more are needed if we are going to be able to continue this form of research. Details of the types of cameras we need can be found on our wishlist.

The letter "S" brings us back to the cat family, with the acrobatic Serval.

Although rarely seen by visitors, the serval is present in over 40 countries south of the sahara, and has also been reintroduced into Tunisia.  There may also still be a few in Algeria, but this isn't known for certain.  The Namibian population is limited to the north-eastern portion of the country, with CCF just on the edge of the range.  During five years of field work, I have only had two sightings, and even on camera traps, they are highly unusual.

The total population size isn't known, but most national parks within their range report healthy populations and as a result, the species as a whole is listed by the IUCN as Least Concern. 

Servals mainly eat small mammals, such as rodents, and are also good at catching birds - sometimes in flight.  They are talented jumpers, able to jump over 7m to land on their prey, and typically are successful about 50% of the time with this kind of attack.  Hunting occurs during the latter portion of the afternoon and throughout the night.  Servals stand 62 cm at the shoulder with males weighing around 11 kg.

Although the population is stable, servals are hunted for their pelts in several west-African countries, where they are used for both medicinal and ceremonial purposes.  Elsewhere in Africa their range is being reduced as wetland areas are drained to support increasing human populations.  They do not kill small livestock, but do sometimes take chicken and small poultry.  Servals actually can be beneficial to farmers by reducing local rodent populations.

"R" is for Red Hartebeest!

CCF has carried out a number of camera trapping surveys, and also maintains a network of cameras positioned for ongoing monitoring of the wildlife on our land.  While we are mainly focused on cheetahs, there are many other species out there, and the cameras will trigger no matter what passes them by.  In this series of weekly blog entries, I will use these pictures to illustrate some of the wealth of animal life in Namibia - one species per week.  I hope you will enjoy seeing a little more of our world here in the bush.

I'd like to make a special appear to everyone who reads this blog.  Please think of CCF this Christmas.  Many of our camera traps are beginning to feel the ravages of time and will soon need replacement.  Some have been out in the bush in the heat and rain for three continuous years now, and have taken hundreds of thousands of pictures.  However, I very much doubt they'll all survive another year.  We have recently received two brand new camera traps from our generous donors in Germany, but many more are needed if we are going to be able to continue this form of research.  Details of the types of cameras we need can be found on our wishlist.

Now, back to why you're here… R is for… Red Hartebeest.

The Red Hartebeest is one of seven surviving sub-species of Hartebeest and can be found in South Africa, Botswana, Namibia and the south of Angola.  It was extensively hunted in the past, but has undergone a significant come-back as a result of it's popularity with both tourists and modern hunters.  It has therefore been reintroduced into a great many private reserves and game farms.  The IUCN lists the Hartebeest as "Least Concern", and the sub-species, the Red Hartebeest, is the most populous with an estimated total of around 130,000 individuals.  A number of the other sub-species are faring much less well however, and may become extinct in the not too distant future.

Hartebeest are striking looking antelope with an impressive capacity for speed.  They stand 1.3m at the shoulder, can weigh over 150 kg, and run at speeds of up to 70 km/h.  Males are usually slightly darker than females, and also somewhat bigger, although both have horns.  Generally hartebeest are social herd animals, although some non-territorial males do live alone.  They breed annually, live to their mid-teens and are commonly found in herds of between a few dozen animals to a few hundred.  Historically even more massive herds were found in Botswana, but the establishment of the veterinary cordon fences there restricted migratory movement and ultimately led to massive population reductions.

 

Here at CCF, we see red hartebeests commonly on game counts on our big field, and also at waterholes.  Currently the main herd has around 10-12 calves with them, although this number will probably be reduced by the large number of predators in the area.