Stress and AA amyloidosis in captive cheetahs - PhD research

For me, coming to CCF was not only about fulfilling a long time dream of working with cheetahs but about conducting research as well. I am a PhD candidate at the University of Maryland College Park (USA) and I work with the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute to investigate how stress is related to disease in captive cheetah populations. AA amyloidosis is a disease that is highly prevalent among the captive cheetah population in North America, but appears to be virtually nonexistent in wild cheetahs and I believe that this is due to the stress that being held in captivity imposes; this is the focus of my dissertation research. CCF and the Smithsonian have had a long and strong history of collaboration, so I took this opportunity to compare the captive cheetahs in the US to captive and wild cheetahs in Namibia. In order to measure stress in a cheetah, the hormone cortisol is commonly used. Hormones can most easily be measured in the blood, but collecting blood samples from a cheetah is both invasive and stressful, so instead, I use fecal samples. The amount of cortisol in feces varies from day-to-day, so I collect many samples over a long period of time to calculate an average, or baseline, for each individual. Once we have this information we can begin to investigate if stress may be directly related to AA amyloidosis.

A large amount of my time at CCF has been working directly with the husbandry team to prepare meat, feed cheetahs, and collect fecal samples daily for my study. Cheetahs at CCF are housed in groups, which makes the process a bit more complicated, because when we find a fecal sample in an enclosure we do not know which cheetah it belongs to. So what is the solution? I add different non-digestible markers, such as uncooked lentils, corn, or rice to each individual’s food. These markers will pass through the cheetah’s digestive tract and into their feces. This way, when I collect a fecal sample, I can look to see which marker is inside and instantly know which cheetah the fecal sample came from. Using this method, I have been able to collect samples from 34 of the resident cheetahs at CCF whom will be included in my study.

In addition to this work, I have also spent a lot of time working in the Genetic Conservation Laboratory here at CCF because I am also interested to know if there are genetic differences between cheetahs that predispose them to getting AA amyloidosis, particularly when stressed.

I feel incredibly lucky to have been able to spend the last two months here at CCF and feel incredibly sad that my time here has just about come to an end. I’ve been so fortunate to get to know most of CCF’s resident cheetahs and CCF’s staff has been fantastic, unwavering in their efforts to help me with my research exceeding my original expectations. I look forward to the day I will return to CCF again, because it is not a question of if, it is a question of when.

Ashley Franklin, PhD Student Research Intern

Queridos amigos de CCF...

Queridos amigos de CCF! Me llamo Teresa y escribo este post para compartir las mejores  experiencias que he vivido por ahora en este mes que voy a disfrutar como voluntaria en CCF Namibia.  Soy bióloga y desde muy joven ha sido un sueño para mí estudiar la naturaleza  y el comportamiento animal.  En especial  siempre me han fascinado los guepardos. Aquí en CCF he tenido la oportunidad de convivir con estos magníficos animales y con las personas que hacen posible que muchos de ellos poco a poco se puedan volver a reinsertar en su habitat.   En una de las actividades diarias (husbandry,) antes de alimentar a los guepardos más salvajes, se les intenta hacer correr mientras nosotros vamos subidos en una furgoneta. Me maravillo verles correr a mi lado! Otra de las actividades es el censo de animales (waterhole count) en una de las reservas semisalvajes donde se libera a los guepardos para asegurar su autosuficiencia, antes de ser liberados totalmente. Llegas allí a las 6 de la mañana y ves como un sol rojo africano y maravilloso aparece mientras los animales beben enfrente tuyo…

Pero desde luego mi mejor experiencia es que cada día al despertarme camino cerca de ellos y alguno me regala una mirada con esos increíbles ojos que te llega al alma...

(English translation)

Dear Friends of CCF! My name is Teresa and I write this post to share my best experiences I have had so far this month as a volunteer with CCF Namibia. I'm a biologist, and ever since I was very young it has been my dream to study nature and animal behavior. In particular I have always been fascinated by cheetahs. Here at CCF I have had the opportunity to interact with these magnificent animals and the people who make it possible for many of them gradually to reintegrate back into their wild habitat. In one of the daily activities (husbandry), before feeding the cheetahs we exercise them behind the vehicle and I am amazed to see them running beside me! Another activity is the animal census (waterhole counts) in CCF’s soft-release camp, Bellebenno. You get there at 6 in the morning and watch a red and wonderful African sun appear while the animals drink right in front of you.

But certainly my best experience is that every day when I wake up I walk near the cheetahs and they often give me a look with those amazing eyes that touch your soul… 

Our return to CCF

Want to rake and shovel tons of goat poop every few days?  Pick up fresh carnivore scat with a twig?  Care to clean cheetah pens  – all the while fending off the thorns of the omnipresent acacia bush?  Perhaps you’d prefer to spend hours doing data entry, sitting in front of a computer and entering statistics from game count drives, or separating out microscopic-sized hairs from fecal samples for analysis?

Perhaps not.  But then, how would you ever know the joy of beginning each morning’s journey to The Hotspot with a detour to watch baby goats cavort and bleat in their joyous, silly way?  And how would you ever be lucky enough to greet each morning, afternoon, and evening with the sight of lean, magnificent cheetahs walking their regal stride, splayed out in the shade of a tree, heads raised poised and alert, or accelerating with the speed and grace that makes them so captivating?  And how would you ever feel that connection, that rush, upon looking into a cheetah’s face and seeing that artistic tapestry of spots and lines and those haunting eyes, orange orbs that return your gaze and make you feel humbled?  And how would you ever get to be part of the world of this remarkable animal and the effort to ensure its survival … while surrounded by sights and sounds of Africa’s beauty:  kudus and warthogs at a watering hole; giraffes, oryx, zebra, red hartebeest, eland, ostrich dispersed in a golden field; breathtaking  sunsets with the Waterburg plateau as a backdrop; and memorable sounds of the hornbill, the lorie bird, and the korhaan?

Hill and I, lifelong criminal defense attorneys from NYC, dedicated to representing the indigent, returned to CCF as volunteers for a second time because we feel both inspired and privileged to be part of this endeavor not just to save the cheetah but also to do so in a way that might, hopefully, be a catalyst and model for preserving other wildlife here and elsewhere.  We hope to return yet again, to join the mission and dedicated, welcoming staff of CCF.

Miriam Hibel & Hillard Wiese

August, 24, 2013

CCF visits the Klein Karas Community

Back in June, a group from the Klein Karas Community in southern Namibia spent three days with us here at the Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF) to learn about integrated livestock management and alternative livelihoods. The Klein Karas Community is located in the Greater Fish River Canyon Landscape and is the only rural community in this area. Whilst at CCF, the group learned how to identify predators, how to manage their livestock to reduce conflict, and also about our organic garden and goat milk production.

Their visit was funded by The Namibia Protected Landscape Conservation Areas Initiative (NAM-PLACE), which is a five year project established by The Ministry of Environment and Tourism (MET), with co-financing from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) as the Implementing Agency.

The week following their training visit my colleagues, Tyapa and Chavoux, made the long drive south to deliver a livestock guarding dog puppy and two milk goat bucks to further benefit their project. And now it was time for the follow up visit to check everything was going well and the animals were fit and healthy.

At 5am Tyapa and I pulled out of the gates of CCF to start our journey. It’s close to 1000km each way so this early start was indeed necessary. I have to say the stop for coffee in Otjiwarongo was very welcome indeed. By taking it in turns to drive we covered the distance quite easily but we did arrive after dark. A hot shower, some food and a good night’s sleep were in order before our visit to the community the next day.     

We met with Josef Swartbooi who looks after the livestock guarding dog puppy and who is also one of the community leaders. He said they were very happy with the dogs’ progress and felt he was a great addition to the herd. The puppy was clearly very well looked after and had bonded extremely well with the goats he was growing to protect. Everywhere they went, he followed, with his tail in the air and with a jaunty little step. I think he will grow to be a fine guarding dog for the community goat herds.

We also got chance to catch up with the breeding dairy goat bucks who have definitely grown in the past few weeks. They were happy to come over for a stroke and looked in fine condition. They have not yet been used to breed with the females but this should happen in the next month or so.

Overall, we had a great visit. This whole area is beautiful and so very different to the north of Nambia. I look forward to our next follow up visit in October when we hope to meet with the elders and more members of the community to work out how we can further assist them with their development plans.

Anja Bradley

Livestock Guarding Dog Programme Manager     

CJ and Stephanie Mantilla - Volunteer Stories

My name is CJ Mantilla and I am a Sales Representative from Houston, Texas.  I love animal photography and I’m married to a Zoo Keeper.  Opportunities abound!

I came to CCF to support my wife and her lifelong love of Cheetahs.  I strongly believe in conservation and the work CCF has done, so I came for myself, too.  Oh, and I came armed with my camera ready to take pictures... I ended up with 4,000-ish.  

I had a thoroughly amazing and educational experience during my two weeks here.  Immediately, I noticed that saving the Cheetah was not just an American thing nor just a Cheetah thing.  Cheetah work, alone, probably represents less than half of the daily workload here at CCF.  I worked with people from the UK, France, Germany, Belgium, South Africa, and Namibia cleaning goat pens, feeding and walking dogs, entering data for various animals, and of course feeding Cheetahs!  Saving the Cheetah is at the heart of all we did at CCF, but CCF represents so much more to the people of Namibia.  I was surprised that CCF is a living, breathing, working farm where locals can learn better farming techniques and livestock protection.  I was humbled to contribute to the effort.  I leave here with a deeper appreciation for the Cheetah (Stitch and Senay in particular), a better understanding of the cyclical nature of conservation, and inspired to get more involved with CCF in the future.

I’m also kind of ecstatic that they’ll even be using some of my pictures. 

  

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Stephanie Mantilla

I am a Zookeeper at the Houston Zoo and decided to come to CCF for my vacation.  I have wanted to volunteer at CCF since it opened but was only realistically able to plan my trip here within the last three years.  Cheetah conservation is the reason I got into my line of work so coming here has been a life-long dream fulfilled.  

I felt prepared for the workload at CCF since my daily job has many similarities but what I was surprised about was the numerous side-projects CCF is involved in that doesn’t make it into the media such as Bushblok and the many educational programs.  There is never a dull moment here and you can always find a project to get involved in.  Just in my two-week stay there was a litter of Anatolian shepherd puppies born, a French film crew filming, and a cheetah transport and work-ups for four cheetahs.

People from all backgrounds come here to volunteer including birding retirees, nurses, vet students, ex-lawyers, college students, photographers, and do-it-yourselfers.  My free time was spent sorting photographs from the many camera traps on-site.  Basically if you love cheetahs, you don’t need a certain skill set.