Laurie's parents visit CCF

Laurie's parents spent a few days visiting with us at CCF. Below is an e-mail that Laurie's mom sent to her friends. We decided to post it here to give everyone an idea of how many things are always happening at CCF!

Dear Famiy and Friends,

We are enjoying our time here at the Cheetah Conservation Fund.

There are people here from all over the world. Volunteers from U.K. Scotland, The Netherlands, Belgium, Ireland, Switzerland, U.S, Spain, Mexico. There is a group of Earthwatch volunteers here and one of them is from Cupertino, Ca.

There was a family from San Francisco here. They had 2 children and a friend of their son's, who lives in Switzerland. A very nice family. The children were so interested in what was going on. They won the Audi that CCF raffled off last year, and then donated it back to CCF. It was very interesting talking to them.

There is a delegation from the WWF (World Wildlife Fund) who do lobbying on environmental issues to Congress.

A film crew from the BBC (British Broadcasting Station) is also here. They are producing a film for their T.V.

A group of scientists from the Smithsonian's National Zoo. We were priviledged to watch a procedure on one of the cheetahs. They used ultrasound to examine the entire insides and then measured and proceeded to enter the ovaries with a small needle and extract the eggs. They are doing research on fetilization. This is the same group that did the work on the Pandas from Washington. I was so pleased to be able to watch the entire procedure. They are so exact and good at their profession.

One of the veterinarians is from Sebastapol, Ca., even though she works with the Washington, D.C. group. They gave a very interersting power point presentation of their work in China. The Smithsonian group keeps thier own vehicle here, so I guess different scientists come and go from the National Zoo.

Saturday, there was a busload of school children about 12 years old from St. Paul's Academy in Windhoek (the capital city here). They were camping and some of the parents and teachers were with them. They wore very nice royal blue uniforms, and were very well behaved.

Yesterday, Sunday, we had a picnic in the bush near a water hole. We sat out under a tree and watched the animals come to drink. There was a herd of zebra, warthogs, heartebeests, kudus, Oryx, ostrich, aardvark, porcupine. We did not see any giraffe, but they are here on the farms as the Earthwatch visitors said they saw a lot of them. Lots of pretty birds that I am learning the names of. Of course we see the cheetahs right out of the office window. There is a young one named Kunini (which means little one) that Laurie plays with each day. She is very cute. She had been mistreated, so it is nice to see her gaining confidence in Laurie.

It is winter here. However the sun is out every day and it warms up quite a bit by noon. If it is not too windy, we open the house and let some warm air in. We sleep under a wool blanket and a down comforter to give you an idea of how chilly it gets. We wear a jacket most of the time even in the house, as it is colder in that out duing the day.

This week it has been unseasonably warm and we are enjoying the milder weather. I hope it doesn't turn cold again, but it probably will, as I remember last August having some cold weather.

Thank you for your e-mails giving us news of happenings in your lives.

Marline and Ralph

Update from Laurie

Since my return from the US in May, I have been trying to catch up with everything. We continue to have busy to busier days here – with so much going on.

In early June we watched as Shiraz, who is the one that had the four cubs and was released in Bellebeno in January – made her first hunt. She hadn't been hunting!! She has moved into the Big Field, so it was very exciting! It's wonderful to go into the Field and see cheetahs living free.

Around the same time we picked up three captured cheetahs – but unfortunately they are too young to go out into the wild. Also, Kanini is doing very well - and since I got back she has re-bonded so strongly with me, and she is so smart! She still loves Chewbaaka – who is also doing well.

Back from Ethiopia

I just got back from Ethiopia and I did see the remaining cub. Patch, the one eyed cub, passed away about 2 weeks before I had arrived – although there was a bit of a necropsy, there were no definitive findings as to why the cub had died. He had been doing well, I was told. The other cub, Scout, was there and I did meet him. Both cats were males, originally they thought that Scout was a female – but he is certainly a male!

I did take a photo of the cub – unfortunately, although he is not skinny, he is suffering from a nutritional deficiency and he has bad legs, so we are looking now at our options as to how to get x-rays, how we might go about surgery there in Addis – with no real animal clinic.

The cub is very sweet – he goes out every day with his keepers in the gardens, and he is very gentle and likes to be petted. We spent quite a bit of time with him and I was able to teach the caretakers more about how to best handle the cheetah and care for it. The cage is small, however it was clean – so I was pleased with that.

We went to where we plan to help build a new pen for the cub – this will be a fairly large area, with grass, and fallen trees for Scout to climb and play on. The US Ambassador has adopted Scout and will be going to the Palace weekly to see how the cub is doing. She and other members of the US Embassy will be helping to build Scout a new cage.

But, we also have 40 orphan cheetahs in Namibia that we need to care for long-term so please visit our web page at http://www.cheetah.org/?nd=53 to help us care for these cheetahs that are not luckily enough to live in the wild.

Until next time,

Laurie Marker

Another orphan cheetah at CCF

We have a new orphan cub. We have named her Kunini (which means little one) – she is tiny although about 6 months of age. We think that she had been fed cat food, as when she came in she was just starved – and is still ravenous around food. She is cute, cute, cute! We’ll keep you posted on how she is getting along.

Cheetah Update: General

Beginning in January (December in the case of the Three Musketeers), all the CCF resident cheetahs underwent their annual health examination, performed by our Veterinarian, Dr. Arthur Bagot-Smith.

These health checks are part of the Namibian permit requirements and also give us the opportunity to check on the health of our cheetahs. During the exam, each cheetah undergoes a clinical examination, from head to tail to ensure all joints are working and internal organs, such as the kidneys feel normal. They are also checked for external parasites, treated if necessary and vaccinated for feline distemper and rabies. Blood is also collected and these samples are screened for viruses and overall health to make sure that all organs, such as the liver, are functioning well.

In addition, each cheetah is endoscoped. This particular procedure forms part of a long-term research project to monitor the possible development of a disease called gastritis and the helicobacter that is associated with it. Gastritis is one of the diseases that plague captive cheetahs around the world, while the free-ranging cheetahs seem not to suffer from this debilitating disease. By monitoring the cheetahs that arrive at CCF and are unable to be released, we are able to see if they develop the disease after a period of time in captivity.

It is possible that stress is one of the causative agents in this disease, possibly affected by factors such as exposure to humans, pen size, exercise levels and diet. Our cheetahs have relatively low exposure to humans, live in large enclosures, get lots of exercise and are on an unprocessed meat and bone diet, all of which really seem to agree with them, as they are in excellent health.

Cheetah Update: Gryffindor Cubs

The Gryffindor Cubs have not yet been at CCF for 6 months, so no update is available yet.

Ron
Ron is named after one of the characters in the popular books by J.K. Rowling and although he appears to be the most aggressive, he is the most gentle of the three siblings, so long as there is a meat treat involved. He is the most dominant, and often chases his sisters around the pen for play, preferring to chase them than chasing lures. He is highly food-motivated and will approach anyone with treats. Ron is the most gentle during feedings and loves to lick your hand for a while after the food is gone. He is the largest of the three and the lightest in colour. Ron's distinguishing marks are his kinked tail and almond-shaped eyes, which are a very light amber colour. He has a very laid-back personality and is very well behaved. He tends to be the favourite of visitors because of his gentle nature and likes to have his ears scratched.

Harry
Harry is named after J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter character, because when “she” arrived she had a small lightning-bolt-shaped scratch under her right eye. She is very shy around people and will wait until her siblings, Ron and Hermione, approach people before joining in the fun. Her favourite toy is an old t-shirt tied to a string and she is the fastest of the three siblings when playing. Harry is very golden in colour with dark eyes and is only slightly smaller than her brother, Ron. She is incredibly observant, and will watch you as you walk around the pen. When an animal such as a mouse, tortoise or lizard, etc. is found in the pen, she will be the first to investigate.

Hermione
Hermione is named after one of the characters in the popular books by J.K. Rowling and is the smallest and darkest of the three siblings...and the most playful. She has a small teddy bear face and big dark eyes, by far the cutest of the three. She is very gentle by nature, but not as much as her brother Ron. She tends to follow Ron's lead during feeding. Hermione is the most social and will chase her brother and sister around the pen even though she is much smaller. She is an instigator, but able to hold her own. Hermione is also very food-motivated and will lie in your lap during feeding. She also loves to lick your fingers after feeding. Her favourite scratch spot is behind her ears and neck.

Cheetah Update: Athos

From your last update on Athos, we’d like to tell you a bit more about him and what he has been doing over the past six-month period.

As you know, the "Three Musketeers" were about eight months old when they arrived at CCF after their mother, one sibling and two other adults were shot. The three cubs are inseparable, and it was inevitable they would become named after the brave fictional musketeer characters: Athos, Porthos, and D'Artagnan.

Athos puts up a brave and entertaining show at feeding time. Naturally shy, he puts on a fierce face. With a fuzzy little growl, he tries to convince you he's not intimidated at all.

Cheetah Update: Porthos

From your last update on Porthos, we’d like to tell you a bit more about him and what he has been doing over the past six-month period.

As you know, the "Three Musketeers" were about eight months old when they arrived at CCF after their mother, one sibling and two other adults were shot. The three cubs are inseparable, and it was inevitable they would become named after the brave fictional musketeer characters: Athos, Porthos, and D'Artagnan.

Porthos always hangs out with his brothers, Athos and D'Artagnan. Same as his brother D'Artagnan, Porthos is very shy, grabbing his food and dashing to the far side of the enclosure before eating.

Cheetah Update: D'Artagnan

From your last update on D’Artagnan, we’d like to tell you a bit more about him and what he has been doing over the past six-month period.

As you know, the "Three Musketeers" were about eight months old when they arrived at CCF after their mother, one sibling and two other adults were shot. The three cubs are inseparable, and it was inevitable they would become named after the brave fictional musketeer characters: Athos, Porthos, and D'Artagnan.

D'Artagnan is the clown prince of the musketeers. He is very shy and wants nothing to do with people. Even at feeding time he approaches his bowl reluctantly and tries to grab a hold of his meat without taking his eyes off the scary humans. On one occasion, his bowl was located next to the water bowl and, thinking he was grabbing dinner, instead got a face full of water.

In December, the “Three Musketeers” underwent their annual health examination, performed by our Veterinarian, Dr. Arthur Bagot-Smith. These health checks are part of the Namibian permit requirements and also give us the opportunity to check on the health of our cheetahs. During the exam, each cheetah undergoes a clinical examination, from head to tail to ensure all joints are working and internal organs, such as the kidneys feel normal. They are also checked for external parasites, treated if necessary and vaccinated for feline distemper and rabies. Blood is also collected and these samples are screened for viruses and overall health to make sure that all organs, such as the liver, are functioning well.

Cheetah Update: Saturn

From your last update on Saturn, we’d like to tell you a bit more about him and what he has been doing over the past six-month period.

As you know, Saturn was caught with his brother, Orion, and their sister, Luna, in late 2004. When he arrived at CCF we realised that he had sustained serious injuries – his 4th neck vertebrae and a front foot were both broken. Luckily, Saturn is a fighter and managed to regain his health and is now looking very good. He is just as feisty as his brother, and you would never even be able to tell of the extent of his injuries from the past.

Saturn and Orion are inseparable. They share an enclosure with Athos, Porthos and D'Artagnan and if the musketeers leave any food in their bowls, you can be sure that Saturn and Orion will get it. They sometimes have to run a gauntlet to get their food as it is given to them separately to prevent confrontation at mealtimes. They refuse to be intimidated by the other three.