Bella's Emergency

On 9 October 2012, CCF cheetah keepers Juliette Erdtsiek and Ryan Sucaet noticed that Bella, one of our female cheetahs, had a swollen face.  Initially thought to be a sting from an insect or bite from a snake, the situation worsened, as she was not feeding properly, favoring the right side of her mouth.  For close monitoring, Bella (along with Padme) were kept in holding pens to ensure the symptoms did not worsen.

Three days later, it was clear that Bella had a scratch, either from herself or Padme, that had ruptured into an abcess.  With the loss of pressure from the opening of the abcess, the swelling dramatically decreased, but the wound was more susceptible to infection now.  Luckily, on the day the rupture occurred, our veterinarian Amelia Zakiewicz had prescribed Bella antibiotic and pain killer medications. Further investigation of the open wound, indicated it was actually caused by a problematic tooth.

On 15 October 2012, Bella was anesthetized so that we could discover the true cause of the ruptured abscess.

During Bella’s stable two-hour anesthesia, it was clear the problem was worse than anyone previously thought.  The four and a half year old cheetah had a severe tooth root abscess on her upper left carnassial.  Luckily,Otjiwarongo dentist, Dr. Dennis Profitt was enlisted to help with the procedures.  Bella received two root canals on her carnassial.  She then needed an incision on the inside of her mouth (just above her tooth) to clean out the root and save her carnassial.   Because of Bella’s young age, and because she had a high chance of being re-wilded, CCF found it to be imperative that Bella keep her tooth.  A cheetah's teeth are crucial for feeding, especially tearing meat apart.  She received five stitches on the inside of her mouth to close up the incision along with one more on the outside of her face to close the exterior wound.

The following day, Bella recovered nicely from her anesthesia and there was almost no swelling to her face.  Her behavior was normal, hissing and slapping at people and her appetite was back to usual as she gorged herself on cut up pieces of meat.  Post-treatment medications include a series of painkillers and more antibiotics.  We are all hoping Bella has a healthy and quick recovery.

Cheers from CCF,

Ryan Marcel Sucaet

Assistant Cheetah Keeper & Research Assistant

sucaetry@gmail.com

Another Mongoose!

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.

When referencing African wildlife most people automatically think of the larger fauna (elephants, giraffe, rhinos), while the smaller species tend to be forgotten.  So today’s blog will highlight one of these overlooked animals: the slender mongoose.

Like the name suggests, this mongoose has a very slender body of 27.5 - 40cm, accompanied by a long tail of 23-33cm.  The males weigh around 640-715g while the females are smaller, with a weight of 460-575g.

Their colour varies according to the subspecies, ranging from a dark red/brown, to shades of grey, or even yellow.  They can easily be distinguished from other mongoose in the region by a prominent black tip on the tail.  The slender mongoose's fur is also silkier than any other member of the Herpestidae family.

These small mammals normally live alone or in pairs, and can be found throughout Sub-Saharan Africa.  They are not territorial but do maintain stable home ranges, which they share with other family members.  They are adaptable and can live almost anywhere within this wide range, but are most commonly found in the savannah and semi-arid areas.  Slender mongoose are mostly carnivorous but occasionally omnivorous.  They usually eat insects, but from time to time also eat lizards, amphibians, rodents, snakes and even fruit.  They have the ability to climb trees and will often hunt birds! Slender mongoose are listed as least concern on the IUCN Red List. 

"M" is for Mongoose

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.

When referencing African wildlife most people automatically think of the megafauna while the smaller species tend to be forgotten.  So today’s blog will highlight one of these overlooked animals: the banded mongoose.

The banded mongoose is a small yet sturdy animal that can weigh between 1.5 to 2kg.  They are dark brown/grey in colour with brown bands running down their body and tail.

Unlike most mongoose species that are solitary, the banded mongoose lives in large social groups where all the females mate and produce young.  When the groups get too big some of the younger females will be pushed out of the group by the older females and males and will form groups of their own.

They are listed as least concern by the IUCN and can be found throughout East and South-central Africa; they are extremely adaptable and live in a variety of habitats such as savannah, open forests and grassland, although they do prefer to stay near water.  Their main diet consists of beetles, millipedes and other insects but they will also feed on small frogs, birds and eggs to sustain their diet. 

"L" is for Leopard

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.

It gives me considerable pleasure to talk this week about my undoubted favourite of the big cats; the Leopard. Graceful and lethal, males can weigh up 90 kg, and are nearly 2m long.  Yet despite their size, they are rarely seen, and most historical estimates of their population have been found to have been produced using highly unreliable methods.  We do know that they existed over a significantly larger range than they do today.

Despite that range reduction, leopards can still be found in over 70 countries across sub-saharan Africa, the Middle East, India, and SE Asia.   They are highly adaptable and can survive in a wide variety of habitats from deserts to swamps, to grasslands, and even rain-forests.  They seem most at home in mountainous and rocky areas, however.  Leopards are often portrayed as the most intelligent, and dangerous of the big cats. San Bushmen in Namibia have reported that while their hunting parties will sometimes chase lions off a kill and take the meat back to their village, they would never dare to steal from a leopard for fear of it following them home and taking something, (or someone) else, in return!

The IUCN lists the leopard as "Near Threatened", but also say that it might be reclassified as "Vulnerable" in the future, due to habitat losses and the numbers of leopards killed in an effort at "pest control" (mainly to protect against livestock losses).  It is legal to trophy hunt leopards in most countries, and while these hunts may or may not have a significant impact, their inclusion in that most infamous of hunting lists -- "the Big Five" -- has resulted in massive numbers of leopards being killed for their skins.

Leopards eat a wide variety of prey, from small rodents, arthropods and birds, to larger antelopes, and, where wild prey is unavailable, they will, like other predators, take domestic livestock.  Such incidents are less common than is generally believed, and many leopards are unnecessarily killed as a result of perceived and unfounded threats.

Here at CCF, we have a large and healthy leopard population dominated by an 8 or 9 year old male that some staff have nicknamed Goliath.  Both our field staff and camera traps see leopards frequently, and they never fail to inspire a sense of awe and joy.

-- Ryan Sucaet

Mendel has an Operation

Last week Mendel, one of our male cheetahs, had a big operation. He had a foreign body removed from his stomach. 

The foreign body was first felt in his stomach at his annual exam, and again when he was anaesthetized to have his VHF collar removed. We took an x-ray and could see bone and food material in his stomach. We were very concerned about how long the material had been in his stomach and worried that it might cause the stomach to rupture, which would make him very ill. Surgery was the only way that we could remove the foreign material.  

An x-Ray showing the mass in Mendel's stomach

Axel, the vet, and I performed the surgery at the local vet in Otjiwarongo. The anaesthesia was monitored by Rosie, our vet nurse, and Juliette, our head cheetah keeper, who assisted throughout. The surgery went well with no complications. When we removed the mass of bone and foreign material from the stomach we noticed that part of the stomach (the pylorus) was thickened, which meant that there was only a very small opening for food to enter the intestines. It was this reduction in size that was causing food and bone to get stuck in the stomach. We performed a procedure called a pylorotomy, which widens the pylorus to allow food to pass through properly. 

Vet nurse Rosie preps Mendel for surgery

Mendel's stomach is sutured upon completing the procedure

Post surgery Mendel has done very well.  He had to spend the first few days eating only lean mince (ground beef) and now is eating cut up meat.  He is in a smaller camp with one of his brothers Darwin to keep him company.  He is looking forward to being able to eat meat off a bone like he normally does and to getting back to his normal big 5-hectare camp with his other brothers!

Amelia Zakiewicz

CCF Veterinarian

"K" is for Kudu!

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 focussed 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.

This week we have a magnificent giant, the Greater Kudu.  Standing up to 150cm at the shoulder and weighing in at 315kg, with males mounting horns of over a meter, this is one of our larger and most distinctive animals.  Kudu's can jump fences from a standing start, and have ears sensitive enough to hear our supposedly silent camera traps triggering.

Listed as Least Concern by the IUCN, there are close to half a million greater kudu spread across 17 countries from Ethiopia and Chad in the north, down to South Africa. Nearly two-thirds of the population exists on private land, where it is highly valued as a trophy animal - indeed, without this demand the population today would undoubtedly be much lower.

Kudus are browsers, and eat a considerable range including many herbs, fruits, succulents, and foliage, with acacia being a major staple. Providing their diet is sufficiently moist they have no need to visit waterholes for additional fluids, although in the parched environment at CCF, they are a frequent visitor at our dams. 

Over the last few years many of Namibia's kudu have succumbed to an ongoing rabies epidemic.  More research is needed on the topic, but it's believed they are particularly susceptible to spreading this disease because of the way multiple animals often chew on the same spiny branches of the acacias, thus passing the disease via their bloodied lips and tongues.  Numbers still appear to be high however, especially where populations are actively managed.

Counting on the "Little Serengetti"

The Cheetah Conservation Fund owns a vast area of land of about 46,000 ha, which is a part of the Waterberg Conservancy in north-central Namibia. This area consists of a number of  farms and a very important segment of land (1,492 ha) that is the largest open, uncultivated area in the north central farmlands and is home to many free-ranging game species such as Oryx, Eland, Red Hartebeest, Springbok, Steenbok, Duiker and more. This area is known as “Little Serengeti” for its visual similarity to the open savannahs of the Serengeti National Park.  It is a breathtaking splendor that has the Waterberg Plateau splashing pink, purple and red hues in the background.

The “Little Serengeti” has a huge potential for eco-tourism and therefore, in order to monitor the ecological succession trends and to keep track of the game populations in the area, CCF has been conducting monthly game counts on various animal species since 2004. The monthly game counts provide population and density estimates of various game species as well as estimates on group sizes and population demographics, all of which are vital to a long-term monitoring program. The high prey density provides a support system to various carnivores on CCF’s land, such as Cheetah, Leopard, and Brown Hyena, which helps maintain overall ecosystem health.

While conducting the game counts, information on the kind of species, their numbers, age class and gender are recorded while driving on three different transect routes, known as Chewbaaka, Mid-Field and Osonanga roads of distances 6.34, 5.38 and 4.76 kilometers, respectively. Once the species are identified, their perpendicular distance from the transect road is measured using BMO Range Finders and the distance travelled by the observers is also recorded. All the collected data is then analyzed for calculating the abundance of the species in the area using a software program called DISTANCE.  This practice, when conducted repeatedly over months and years in a given area, gives population trends of the species over time and helps prioritize the management initiatives for effective conservation and decision making.

Best wishes,

Sanju,

Intern | Dept. of Ecology | Cheetah Conservation Fund

"J" is for Jackal

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 focussed 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.

The jackal is the most heavily persecuted carnivore in Southern Africa and has been relentlessly hunted, trapped and poisoned for decades.  Fortunately for the species, they are extremely clever animals, and seem capable of surviving almost any amount of human hostility, while continuing to prey on small-stock species such as sheep and goats.  A former colleague of mine once described a fascinating video sequence taken in NW South Africa that showed a jackal and a gin trap… The jackal approached cautiously, sniffed the trap, circled the trap, stared at the trap, and then finally, lightening fast and quite deliberately, triggered it with one foreleg without loosing so much as a hair in the process! Many jackals are killed by gin traps, poison and bullets, but those that survive seem to breed ever trickier offspring, and each generation becomes harder to eradicate.  Millions of Rand have been pumped into schemes to eradicate Jackals, but none of it seems to slow them down.

At CCF, where animals are not persecuted, the jackals are commonly seen.  Elsewhere, in places where they are actively hunted, they are almost never seen by human eyes.

The black-backed jackal exists in two very distinct sub-species, one in southern Africa, and the other 1000 km away in East Africa (where it's sometimes known as the Silver-Backed Jackal).  There are no reliable estimates of their population, but it appears to be stable, and the IUCN lists them as "Least Concern".

The black backed jackals prefer open grassland or woody savannas, as opposed to dense bush and can be found up to 3000m amsl.  They appear quite fox-like, are up to a metre long, and weigh around 10-12 kg.  They will opportunistically hunt, but may also try to take carcasses away from other larger predators, including cheetah.  Jackals are intensely family oriented, and both the parents and older siblings will aggressively defend young pups, and attempt to keep other predators far away from their dens. 

Jackals are seen day and night on camera traps, and are a common, and welcome, sight during our monthly waterhole counts.  We have also seen on a couple of occasions a rare, pure white jackal, probably an albino.

-- Rob Thompson, Volunteer

Chipping Away at Bush Encroachment

Namibia is known to support the world’s largest free-ranging cheetah population.  The matrix farmland supports diverse land uses, of which livestock and game farming are the most prominent types.  Namibia has signifcant amounts of biodiversity, endemism and scenic landscapes, which are universally recognized.  Over the past century, most of the savannah habitat has been altered due to farming, which has resulted in bush encroachment – a phenomenon described as the thickening and increase in the density of native trees/shrubs.

Cheetahs are adapted to hunt by making use of speed, with records showing 110km/hour. Hunting at such speed through thickened bush is nearly impossible due to energy expenditure and ease of movement.  In addition, cheetahs can sustain injuries as a result of bush encroachment.  Large grazers also suffer in these areas because of the lack of adequate forage.  In order to address this problem, CCF has embarked on a habitat restoration project aimed at thinning encroached areas for the benefit of cheetahs and other biodiversity candidates.

In heavily encroached regions, CCF harvests Acacia biomass that dries in the sun and eventually turned into wood chips.  These raw chips are transported to a factory in Otjiwarongo (city ~40km from CCF Namibia) where they are put into a hammermill to form a fuel log.  The manufactured product, known as Bushblok® is widely known as a wood briquette on the international market.  The mission of Bushblok® is to enhance the long-term survival of the cheetah and other key Namibian wildlife by developing a habitat improvement program that is ecologically sound and economically viable.

Bush being fed into the chipper

An up-close look at the processed chips

Chips being loaded for shipment to the Bushblok plant

Chips being loaded into the hammermill

Harvested areas are monitored continuously to determine impacts and responses of the methods applied towards the local environment.  These results are used to signal what needs to be improved and what can be improved.

"I" is for Impala

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 focussed 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.

This time I have the chance to talk about a rare visitor to CCF.  Given that Namibia (aside from the far NW) is not part of their range, we were rather surprised to spot Common Impala on our camera traps.  There have been just enough sightings to convince us that they seem to have settled, but we think it's probably quite a small group.  We've no real idea where they originated, but given that the species has been introduced to numerous game farms in Namibia, it's probably safe to assume that they escaped from one of those.

The IUCN lists Impala as Least Concern, since their population is large (approx. 2 million) and stable.  More usually they are found much further east ranging from Kenya in the north to Botswana, and north-western South Africa in the south, and all the way across to the Indian Ocean.  A numerically smaller sub-species, the Black-Faced Impala is resident in Namibia's Etosha National Park.

A mixed browser and grazer, the impala can usually be found in areas with both woodland and open grasslands.  They seem to prefer grass in the wet season, and bushes in the dry season, although many exceptions occur.  Impala are about 150cm (59") long and stand 90cm (35") at the shoulder, with gracefully curving horns on males only. Unique to impalas are scent glands on the fetlocks thought to aid lost members of a herd by laying 'trail markers' as the group moves. 

Males can be extremely aggressive to each-other while competing for females, and deaths do occur.  Courtship displays also involve both long and high jumps, with members of a herd often becoming so involved in what they are doing that they become oblivious to everything else.  Barring accidents impala will live to around 15 years, although 50% of calves are lost to carnivores within a few weeks of birth.