New Collared Cheetah!

We have now collared cat number four and are currently downloading data from the first three. From these collars we hope to learn the habitat type the cats are using and also their daily movements and use of playtrees. We will also be comparing range size to a 10-year study already conducted at CCF to determine how prey and vegetation changes may have affected this. The pictures below show the collar which weighs 350 grams, and a GMS map showing the movement of one cat through neighbouring farms.

New puppies!

Two days ago one our top guarding dogs, Tylee, gave birth to nine puppies. Sadly one didn’t make it leaving us with five males and three females. This is the third litter for Tylee as she continues to pass on her remarkable guarding dog genes. Her daughter Uschi is expecting her second litter due at the end of the month. Both litters are fathered by Amos, our breeding male. These dogs will be placed with farmers around Namibia that have applied for a dog to help protect their small stock herds. Since 1994 we have placed over 250 dogs around Namibia.

Cheetahs... and Leopard!!!

Over the last couple weeks we have collared 3 wild cheetahs from different range areas on our farms and are currently collecting data on their movements. This is CCF’s first time using GMS collars and will allow for a much more detailed data collection. All three are cheetahs that we have seen on this year’s camera census. One is a tailless male that we have seen in the previous year’s census, and he appears to be doing quite well despite the lack of a tail.

Today we inadvertently caught a Leopard in one of the cage traps. He was a large male weighing in at 71kg! This was some unexpected excitement as we drove up to the check the trap. Our team did a medical workup in the field in order to collect biological samples and take measurements (see photo at left). We believe he is a male found on the cameras from the neighbouring farm. This gave us a great opportunity to learn more about the other predators on our farms. With one collar left we await the final cheetah and so check the cages throughout the day.

Update on Little C from Namibia

The cheetah cub we call Little C is already trying to climb trees, and spends time with Kanini (through the fence), althought she shows some displeasure when he tries to swat at her. The cub has also been spending time with Chewbaaka (also through the fence). They seem to like each other.

New Cub at CCF - From Laurie Marker

We have a new cheetah cub at CCF. Our new little guy (no name yet – working name is Little C) is doing well and has many adoring fans. I was away again for several days and he seemed to really miss me. I arrived home now 2 days ago and have gotten him playing and he is exploring his outside area. The other cats are now all settled in their new enclosure and like all the space. The clinic is bustling again, as we have started our annual reproductive study. Its quite exciting, one of the females produced 33 eggs – the highest take so far!

Cheetahs, Game Count and Gala!

We are just catching our breath after CCF's Celebration of Speed and Elegance Gala and are all going full speed again - we have cheetah workups happening and our annual Full-Moon Waterhole count. So, on we go.

All the cheetahs are doing well - the Hogwart's trio are doing great - they now run in the Girls' area and we are just finishing up a new 26-acrea area. We will be moving our 2007 orphans, 12, into this area - too many cheetahs! And, Kanini is doing great.

Cheetas, students, census, etc.

We have been really busy during the last part of June! We went with MET (the Namibian Ministry of Environment and Tourism) to confiscate 9 cheetahs – we were able to release 8 of them back into the wild and the farmer got a small fine – but MET has their eyes on him. Besides that – all our students are working on various projects and much progress is being made in a variety of areas of research. Our camera traps are set out and Matti and Fabiano are busy with spoor tracking and checking cameras daily – we are preparing for our yearly conservancy waterhole count and will also conduct strip counts. Ah, the cheetah keeps us busy.

With cheetah purrs to all,
Laurie

Update from Laurie

We have been very busy here – we have 45 cheetahs at CCF currently – we are building a new cheetah enclosure near the Education Centre where we will be able to run our educational cheetahs better – we have nine cheetahs that are our running cheetahs for the public and this new area will allow them all to have more room. We will also be starting our cheetah census again in the next week – this will be using camera traps – we are finishing up the data analysis from our last year's census – which was done in the rainy season – so doing this census in the dry season will be very interesting.

We are preparing our next eLetter, which will be full of news about my past tours to the U.S. and Europe, as well as many news from Namibia. We hope you will enjoy it!

Luna - April 2007

Greetings from Namibia! Quite a lot has happened since your last update:

In mid-February, Luna, along with the rest of our resident cats, underwent her annual physical exam. As part of an ongoing study of gastritis (inflammation of the stomach lining) in captive cheetahs, several gastric biopsies were taken using an endoscope. This year for the first time, staff and volunteers were able to see inside of the esophagus and stomach via the endoscopic camera using a monitor. She was also given her annual vaccines against rabies and other feline diseases and Frontline was applied to help control flies and ticks. Luna weighed in at 39.5 kilograms (86.9 pounds), down almost 2 kilograms from when she was last weighed in July.

Luna still occupies the area near the lockdown pens, which was the area that was the first introduction to Bellebeno for her and her three coalition mates. However, Luna seems to be the only one of the four using that area, as the others have settled in other areas of the 64 hectare enclosure. At two and a half years old, Luna is at the age when she would separate from her siblings to start having cubs. That instinct to be alone might be the reason that Luna has chosen to be on her own.

Although she is submissive towards people, she seems to have established a dominant role in the big enclosure. During feeding times, she slaps the other cheetahs away if they get too close

Thank you again for sponsoring Luna and we hope that we can count on your continued support in the future.

Tempesta - April 2007

Greetings from Namibia! Quite a lot has happened since your last update:

In mid-February, Tempesta, along with the rest of our resident cats, underwent her annual physical exam. As part of an ongoing study of gastritis (inflammation of the stomach lining) in captive cheetahs, several gastric biopsies were taken using an endoscope. This year for the first time, staff and volunteers were able to see inside of the esophagus and stomach via the endoscopic camera using a monitor. She was also given her annual vaccines against rabies and other feline diseases and Frontline was applied to help control flies and ticks. Tempesta weighed in at 37 kilograms (81.4 pounds), down 1 kilogram from when she was last weighed in July.

In the weeks before the exams, CCF staff noticed that the hair was missing from the neck behind her right ear. There was a hole in the middle of the bald spot, with some scarring around the hole. Since it didn’t seem to affect her health at all, we decided to leave it until the exams and work her up first. When we got her on the table, we could see that the hole was probably caused by a thorn of some sort. The veterinarian cleaned the wound, although by that point, it had pretty much cleared up on its own. When a gastric biopsy, or endoscopy, is performed, we always inject antibiotics as a standard procedure, so a further dose was not necessary. Other than a bald spot that will soon disappear, she has had no effects from that injury. Cats in general are pretty immune to infections and Tempesta demonstrated that very well.

She is back in Bellebeno, spending more of her time with Samantha. This is expected, since they came to CCF at around the same time, with Cleo and Luna joining them later. They are both three and a half years old, born in July of 2003. Tempesta is starting to get bold and assertive, fending off the older and more dominant Nina and Solo to get a spot near the gate during feeding time.

Thank you again for sponsoring Tempesta and we hope that we can count on your continued support in the future.