My journey from Cape Town to Kimberly by plane, then on the road to the border of Botswana in the NW Province 

“Howzit?  How are the cheetahs?” ask my new friends in Cape Town. “I’m going to Bray for a few days.”  “Where??”  When even a South African hasn’t heard of this place, I know I’m in for another adventure.  Bray is a frontier post located 200 meters from the border of Botswana in the Southern Kalahari, the North-West Province of South Africa.  There are an estimated 500-800 free ranging cheetah in the country, many of them residing in this area which is also populated by a large number of commercial livestock, game and hunting farms.  For generations cheetah and other predators have been killed in the name of protecting livestock, but there is a solution where both humans and predators can co-exist.

I flew into Kimberley to meetCyril Stannard, Anatolian Project Coordinator for Cheetah Outreach.  Cyril is driving a large pickup (bakkie as they’re called in Africa) filled to the rafters with dog food leaving just enough space for an empty animal crate.  This crate won’t stay empty for long.  Cyril implements Cheetah Outreach’s privately funded Livestock Guarding Dog  Program (LGD for short), delivering Anatolian Shepherd puppies to farms willing to participate in a program of non-lethal predator management.  In short, this means co-existing with the cheetah.  The puppies are donated and provided food for one year, then the farmer takes over the costs.

The Anatolian Shepherd is a known as one of the best guard dogs on the planet.  A Turkish breed that goes back thousands of years, the Anatolian does not herd livestock like a Border Collie or other sheepdog, but rather stands its ground with their ‘family’ against any predator that threatens them.  Cheetah Conservation Fund, Cheetah Outreach and Cheetah Conservation Botswana are among the many NGOs that offer LGDs to farmers, and their popularity is growing not only in Africa but in the Western United States as well.

Cyril’s job is a life on the road.  He visits all the farms who have dogs from the program and checks on their progress, drops off food, and talks with the farmers about successes and pitfalls.  This truck has seen a lot of dusty roads in the Kalahari.  Farms are huge properties spread far from each other.  Not everyone in this region has joined Cheetah Outreach’s LGD program.  One glance at the map and its easy to see the participating farms are a drop in the bucket, but a hopeful one where neighbors can influence neighbors.  Who wouldn’t want to share success and money-saving management tactics?

Just outside Kimberly we meet up with commercial breeder Hannelie Liebenberg to receive three Anatolian Shepherd puppies just seven weeks old.  The over-the-top cute dogs are born in what is called supportive conditions.  The mother gives birth in an enclosure with sheep or goats, and the dogs are raised with livestock.  At seven weeks these little fluffballs are ready to bond with their flock for life.  They’ll grow to nearly 130lbs and view their flock as their family, guarding against predators day and night.  For now it is hard to remain professional and not squeal over the little guys.

Back on the road, with puppies in the crate barking loudly, we make another stop at a grocery during the long drive to Bray.  Panicked word from the Tapama Lodge which will be our home base for the week, is that visiting workmen, malarial sprayers, are devouring all the lodge’s food.  Being so remote, replenishing supplies is no small matter so we pick up loaves of bread and other items for their kitchen.

This is truly one of the more isolated parts of the country.  There are no daily newspapers and scant cell phone coverage.  Free ranging cattle peruse the dusty road in front of Bray’s only gas station.  While Cyril fills the tank in preparation of hundreds of miles of driving per day, I find amusement watching a dung beetle roll its bit of you-know-what around the pump.

Our first stop in the area is a visit Piet Theunesin’s farm.  The Theunesins are taking in one of the puppies we’ve brought from Kimberley.  Over a cup of coffee, Piet signs the LGD Program Contract agreeing to care for the dog and practice non-lethal predator control, then its time for the puppy to meet his new family.

The little dog is carried into a yard with a group of curious sheep.  He trembles and looks very confused.  Stumbling about as we all stand back, he turns in circles and tries to return to the safety of the humans.  One can only imagine the weird upheaval of the last 36 hours for this pup.  Taken from one family, bouncing about in a truck with his brothers and now in a strange land with a very large sheep looming near him, he has no choice but to be courageous.  The Theunesins give him a few minutes with the sheep as a first encounter.

It will take a little time before all the animals are accustomed to each other.  Accepting a puppy is a commitment to training.  Within one year the dog will have paid for itself in livestock saved from predation in this wild landscape, but it takes work.  The process is not as easy as dropping a puppy into a kraal (fenced enclosure).  The Southern Kalahari region is a harsh environment.   In rare instances, a dog’s personality won’t be suited for the work, or worse, it may fall prey to snakes, illness or accident.  When this occurs, the farmer more often than not chooses to try again and requests another dog, a testament to the efficacy of the program.

The numbers don’t lie: Once farmers take on the cost of maintaining their dogs, feeding expenses range from $450 – $1,600 per year.  To cover the bottom end of this range, a dog must save four lambs, three goat kids, or one calf in a year.  The cost of top end feeding is 12 lambs, 10 goat kids, or 3 calves.   Since 2005, Cheetah Outreach has placed 125 LDGs. Over that period, livestock loss due to predation on participating farms has been reduced by 95 to 100 percent.

PERC: Cheetah Conservation: How Dogs are Saving Cats in South Africa by Emily Wood & Annie Beckhelling

You read that right, one hundred percent.

Stay tuned for Part Two where we drive through one of South Africa’s half-abandoned ghost towns, still populated by military families, more puppies meet their flocks, and a farmer’s love for his dogs is challenged by the elements.

Maps provided courtesy of Cheetah Outreach

All images, video & text: Marcy Mendelson © 2012 / Cheetah-Watch.com

Following Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s speech on the poaching crisis, the U.S. International Conservation Caucus held a hearing to focus the American government’s response to threats to African stability and American security from increasingly aggressive poaching networks.

Witness testimonies were given by leaders in conservation:

Dr. J. Michael Fay – Senior Conservationist, Wildlife Conservation Society & Explorer-in-Residence with the National Geographic Society,

Ian J. Saunders – Director of The African Environmental Film Foundation &
Founder of The Tsavo Trust,

& David Barron – Founder of ICCF

Video of the testimonies can be found on ICCF’s website

Press Release from U.S. Rep Ed Royce

From the Interational Conservation Caucus Foundation:

“Unless the United States takes strong action to combat the illegal poaching and trade of wildlife, terrorist groups will be increasingly fortified with funding and safe havens in Africa from which to launch attacks against the United States and our global interests.”
– David Barron, ICCF Founder

On November 15th, Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA) and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), co-chairs of the International Conservation Caucus, held a bipartisan, bicameral caucus hearing to address the global poaching crisis. Poaching is financing terrorist and violent organizations, and increasingly brutal poaching operations are creating war zones between poachers and park rangers. Deteriorating governance in these areas is undermining stability and economies in the region and threatening U.S. interests.

Evidence is mounting that Al-Shabab, an al-Queda affiliate, and the Lord’s Resistance Army are using these illegal animal products to fund their brutal campaigns of violence throughout the region. The revelation of increasing involvement of militias and transnational crime networks in poaching activities elevates a conservation issue to a global security and foreign policy issue. Rep. Royce noted: “The U.S. has a lot of experience and some successes denting drug cartels, international arms traffickers, and terrorist networks – knowledge and lessons that could be brought to bear against these networks.”

The hearing took place less than a week after Secretary of State Hillary Clinton hosted an event titled “Wildlife Trafficking and Conservation: A Call to Action.” The event signaled the heightened emphasis the U.S. State Department is placing on the global poaching crisis within its foreign policy and security agenda. In her remarks, the Secretary identified a four-part strategy for addressing the global problem of wildlife trafficking, which included a plan to spearhead global coordination between heads of state to toughen anti-poaching laws and law enforcement efforts. She also announced that she has requested the intelligence community to produce an assessment of the impact of large-scale wildlife trafficking on American security interests.

Under Secretary of State Robert Hormats, who both appeared at Clinton’s event and testified at the Caucus hearing, emphasized that the State and Defense Departments and other government agencies are gearing up to become very active in taking on crime networks involved in poaching. The only way to be effective is for governments to partner with conservation and resource management NGOs and leverage the expertise of programs already on the ground.

Under Secretary Hormats noted that China, where a large portion of the demand for elephant and rhino parts exists, has very strict laws to protect the wildlife of their own country, particularly for pandas, but does not exercise the same vigilance to assist in the protection of other countries’ wildlife. The State Department is planning a trip to Beijing to address the global poaching crisis with the Chinese government and work with them to toughen their response to trafficking illegal ivory and rhino products.

Leaders of the U.S. Congressional International Conservation Caucus are seeking to dovetail their activities with the State Department’s by coordinating anti-poaching fact-finding and solutions in a bipartisan fashion with the Administration. Sen. Whitehouse noted: “While all responses to this issue are important, investigating and prosecuting wildlife crime is a particular responsibility of governments. The conservation community has played a key role… but they cannot combat militias or take down transnational crime.”

Renowned explorer Dr. J. Michael Fay, Senior Conservationist of Wildlife Conservation Society and Explorer-in-Residence at the National Geographic Society, testified to the magnitude of poaching’s impact on fragile economic and security environments in developing regions as violent groups “overrun” parts of central Africa and “thousands [of elephants] get slaughtered.” He went on: “With elephant poaching comes the same element that we see at sea: corruption, intimidation, illegal immigration, gun trafficking, criminality of all types.. [E]lephant poaching is merely symptomatic of bigger issues having to do with a lack of governance. This is where we need to take this bull by the horns through the entree of conservation and management of natural resources.”  He noted that without the aid of military and intelligence services, governance will likely not return to regions destabilized by poachers.

One oft-repeated message in the hearing was that park rangers are consistently outmatched by well-financed, well-armed poachers, and are in great need of government support to obtain equipment (guns, ammunition, trucks, fuel, night vision goggles), to train, and toshare intelligence on poaching and wildlife trafficking activities with local law enforcement and military authorities.

Ian Saunders, founder of Tsavo Trust, which operates community conservancy land in Kenya, and former British intelligence officer who was active in counter-terrorism and anti-poaching operations in Africa, drove home the connection between poaching and al-Shabab activities in East Africa, including a breakdown of the costs to finance a terrorist attack funded solely with income from poached ivory. The 1998 terrorist attacks on the two US Embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam cost approximately $50,000, which could be paid for with just 1.6 tusks, he noted. Recent poaching trends have made it impossible to divorce ivory rackets from insecurity and political instability.

David Barron, founder of ICCF, ended the hearing with a list of specific recommendations for the U.S. Government to address the poaching crisis and combat the criminal organizations who use illegal wildlife products to fund their activities. “We can address this threat,” he said, “by tightening U.S. laws, regulations, and enforcement against illicit wildlife trafficking; cracking down on U.S. shell corporations that allow illicit groups to launder money through U.S. banking institutions; encouraging the U.S. military and other agencies abroad to take a more active role in understanding and reacting to illegal poaching activities; supporting countries in Africa with funding for equipment, training, law enforcement, and law enhancement activities; supporting capacity building activities in affected countries; and making U.S. defense and other financial support contingent upon foreign governments’ adherence to international law governing poaching and illegal wildlife trafficking.”

International Conservation Caucus Members who were present at the Hearing included: Rep. Karen Bass, Rep. Diane Black, Rep. Howard Coble, Rep. John Garamendi, Rep. Betty McCollum, Rep. Ed Royce, and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse.

From National Geographic News Watch: Tourists traveling in the Cape Town area of South Africa often make the scenic drive through wine country, which is where Cheetah Outreach is located.  Founded in 1997 by Annie Beckhelling, Cheetah Outreach started off as an educational project, bringing ambassador cheetahs to the public.  Since then, it has grown to a facility that trains captive bred cheetahs for other international organizations, expanded its outreach and also cares for caracal, serval, bat-eared foxes and jackals.  Annie is highly dedicated to the cause of conservation.  Last December, when I discovered a stall in Cape Town’s Greenmarket Square trying sell a cheetah skin, she was the first person to respond and take action within less than twenty-four hours. Annie is also a member of many wildlife forums, taking part in the larger discussions on the future plans of range-wide conservation initiatives.  For the full story visit Busting a Cheetah Skin Seller.  (I have requested more information on the case in recent months from Cape Nature’s Biodiversity Crime Unit, but there has been no response on any progress as of September, 2012.)

To come full circle from my first encounter with an ambassador cheetah, Cheetah Outreach is where Tango was raised.  (Tango is an ambassador cheetah with Project Survival’s Cat Haven, located in Dunlap, California.) As one of the best-known educational, cheetah conservation focused organizations in South Africa, they are consistently flooded with visitors.  The high cost of safari, coupled with the sad dearth of cheetah in the wild make facilities like Cheetah Outreach of vital importance.  Tourists can see them up close, learn about their plight and take the inspiration home.  Sharing the story of this cat is a big part of the job conservation, just as much as the research and field work.

Facility Manager Liesl Smith took time from her busy schedule to give me an insider’s tour, meet some of the cats as well as photograph the cheetah run.  The run track is a large grassy enclosure with a small hill in the middle and a grove of trees on one end.  A mechanical pulley system sits low on the ground, which drags a thin rope around the track.  A bright piece of cloth is tied to the rope, and when the pulley starts to zip around, the cats see a bright flash of an object and they tear off after it at their famous top speed.

Every cat possesses its own unique personality and mood, and some are clearly more interested in chilling under a branch or lounging on the hill.  But when that lure starts to zip around the track nothing can stop the cats’ enthusiasm for the chase.  In the early morning, numerous handlers position themselves at various points on the field and communicate through radios.  There are no fences between us and the cats, and the staff takes safety very seriously even though we’re clearly chopped liver compared to the speeding ribbon.  Given the old joke, ‘only food runs’, all handlers and extra humans (in other words, me) stay incredibly still while the cheetah chases the lure.  A few times around the track, and one by one each cat slows to a trot and feigns indifference at the pulley, still zipping by them.  Once the staff observes that one is clearly ‘over it’ for the day, the cheetah is led back to its original enclosure to do what all cats do well, relax.

Cheetah Outreach’s public facing facilities is just one part of their operation.  Behind the scenes of fun and play is a very intensive, dedicated operation that takes place nearly one thousand miles from wine country.  Stay tuned for a rare look into life on the road as I join Cyril Stannard delivering livestock guard dog puppies in one of the most remote regions of South Africa.

For more on captive cheetah runs in America, visit The Cheetah Run

All images & text: Marcy Mendelson © 2012 / Cheetah-Watch.com

This post can also be viewed with additional photography at National Geographic News Watch

Samara Safari Guide holds up the skull of an oryx, an old kill by resident cheetah

From National Geographic News Watch: Deep in the Karoo of South Africa’s Eastern Cape is a land starting over.  The air is dry, the ground recovering from drought, and on high plateaus great plains of golden grass are home to large herds of zebra, red hartebeest, blesbuck and wildebeest.  The animals never descend to the bushland below which is also home to its own herds of game and predators.  When you’re high up on these beautiful plains, to gaze out on similar hills in the distance is like knowing a great secret of the hidden worlds atop each surface.

The Samara Private Game Reserve holds more than just this secret, it is home to a famous cheetah matriarch.  Sibella was rescued from horrific torture that nearly took her life. In 2003, she was nearly ripped apart by hunting dogs and left in a cage to be shot until the farmer’s wife called the Ann van Dyk Cheetah Centre to take her.  To date, she has contributed to 2% of the wild cheetah population of South Africa and is currently raising her 20^th cub.  Who could’ve guessed that a wild animal, brutalized by man, enduring painful surgery and recovery, could regain the strength to become a successful hunter and mother of many litters?  Now in mid-2012, Sibella has had another litter of cubs on this land that hasn’t seen in a cheetah in nearly 125 years.

Before the Samara Reserve was ready to take Sibella, the land was undergoing rehabilitation from generations of overuse by livestock farming. Sarah and Mark Tompkins purchased eleven farms, 70,000 acres, tore down the fences and let the land sit dormant for five years.  They are still in the process of recovery as topsoil erosion and damage from overgrazing can be seen in some parts of the reserve.  Gradually they reintroduced game to the land, taking care that the fragile ecosystem could handle the new population of animals.  Even now the area is recovering from a long drought.  Volunteers assist in erosion control techniques and the planting of spekboom which requires precious little water to survive.  It is not just a simple solution of reintroducing animals to an area where they were driven out.  If the land itself cannot sustain those animals, the efforts will fail.  Samara was literally starting from the ground up.

I arrived during the holiday season, the tracker academy and volunteer crew were closed and gone for the month.  Nevertheless, I toured the vast private reserve and saw something truly unique.  I’d been asking about the cheetah and its place in Southern African mythology everywhere I visited in Botswana, Namibia and South Africa, receiving little more than a shrug as a response.

Humans have inhabited this region for over 20,000 years.  Hidden in a remote corner of the reserve is a cave that overlooks the valley.  The cave is a long drive from the main lodge.  The easiest route is to reach the plateau, then scramble down to the entrance. Painted on the entrance wall is what appears to be cheetah.  Evidence of its status in the Khosa culture, it is a vibrant image full of color and expression.  Little is known about the settlement here and the paintings themselves, but the cheetah has a prominent place on the wall and great care was taken to illustrate the animal.  It could have a full belly from a kill, pregnant, or be one of the cryptic ‘wooly cheetahs’ of the region.  There is little written about these caves and speculation abounds.  Is this a depiction of daily life, or something deeper, more spiritual?  It is believed that the Khosa tribes of the Eastern Karoo created the paintings about 500 years ago.  My personal feeling is that if academics take interest in studying the paintings and Khosa life in the Karoo, perhaps a greater sense of cultural pride will push policy toward creating more protections for the environment.

Back to the present day, there is a cheetah baby-boom happening in Samara.  Word from the reserve is exciting, two more females known to inhabit the area have given birth to cubs.  Birthing during the winter months is no easy feat, a testament to the strength of the resident cats.  Cheetahs are thriving in Samara, and with the lack of competition from other predators (lions and hyenas do not inhabit the area), their chance for survival is strong.  While lack of genetic diversity is a serious issue in wild cheetah populations, Samara partners with the Endangered Wildlife Trust in swopping cheetahs with other reserves to ensure the gene pool stays as strong as possible.  The carrying capacity of the reserve will remain stable and in the future Samara hopes to link with neighboring parks to create one of South Africa’s largest reserves.  After 125 years, the cheetah reigns once again in the Eastern Cape.

A Special Report on the cheetah of Samara from General Manager of the Reserve, Marnus Ochse:

Map of Samara in the Eastern Cape Region of South Africa

It’s been an amazing 2 months with all 3 of our female cheetahs on Samara delivering some new cubs.

First up was Sibella that quietly disappeared into the mountains. After a few days of looking for her, Hayley and Test finally managed to get a signal pointing up in Wolwekloof to the top of the mountain.

To our amazement they found Sibella hidden away in the rocky outcrops with 2 very tiny cubs. The cubs and Sibella managed to survive the cold 2 winter months and we’ve found all 3 of them at the foot of the mountain with Sibella on a kudu kill and 2 healthy looking cubs. The cubs are still being hidden away when Sibella hunts, but they will start moving around more and more with Sibella.

Then in the beginning of July we heard our Master Tracker, Pokkie Benade calling us quite eagerly on the radio. He found a set of 4 different cheetah tracks, 1 adult and 3 cubs (around) 1.5 months old.

Our reserve manager Alan Feldon went out there to have a look to see in which direction they have moved, but with no luck of any visual on that day.  With a lot of determination he managed to get a visual of her … with 3 healthy cubs in the southern part of the Reserve.

After releasing Belini in April 2012 we were all eager to see what her movements will be and in which area she will establish herself in. Within the first week we’ve found her on our far eastern boundary with a male. We didn’t think much of it as we knew Belini was still exploring. She started hunting well and managed to bring down big prey using the same technique being used by Sibella which is the ambush technique in the thick riverine bush. Towards the end of July we found Belini on an unusually big kudu kill with which she stayed for about 4 days. She disappeared into the northern part of the reserve and settled down there for about 2 days. Another 2 days passed and our rangers set out to find her again just to find her in exactly the same spot as 2 days ago. At this point we were really worried about her health, but after a close look where she was lying we manage to get visual of 1 cub maybe 1 day old. We immediately moved off to give her some space and to let the cub get a little bit older before we try and get footage. …

It is a real joy to see this species being able to flourish on Samara and we hope that the species’ numbers will just go from strength to strength in Africa.

All images & text: Marcy Mendelson © 2012 / Cheetah-Watch.com

*except for images of Sibella with cubs, map & volunteers appearing courtesy of Samara Private Game Reserve *

This post can also be seen on National Geographic News Watch

Researchers at Naankuse spray a resident cheetah with bug repellent for their health. Not an easy task!

Step One: Sidle up to cheetah and feign nonchalance.

Step Two: Spray unsuspecting cheetah on the ear.

Step Three: Both parties run like hell from each other!

Visit http://www.naankuse.com to learn more about cheetah in Namibia.

Photo credit: Marcy Mendelson 2012

AfriCat (& Okonjima Lodge) is a family affair.  The Hanssens, a Namibian farming family, settled on the property of Okonjima in the 1970s.  They experienced first-hand the hardships and the rewards of cattle farming in Namibia.  Unique insiders to the region, in contrast to most NGOs who arrive new on the scene, the Hanssens are part of the community and history of Southern African cattle farming.  Who better to transition the land to a conservation and eco-tourism project?

During their farming years, the family experienced extreme loss to predation as leopards took a large number of their cattle.  Like most farmers at the time, they hunted, trapped and shot predators however this method did nothing to alleviate the problem.  To quote from their website:

“Other measures were called for and calf-holding pens were built at watering holes where cows could give birth safely. The calves remained in protective custody until they were approximately 4 months old, their mothers coming in at regular intervals to feed them. Employing these livestock protection methods reduced losses to about 3 or 4 per year.”

AfriCat had humble beginnings as a rescue organization.  Today it is a major figure in Namibia’s conservation community as well as a luxury eco-tourism lodge.

Following three days of solid rest in Windhoek after my NamibRand adventure with Naankuse, I arrived at Okonjima mid-day to catch Donna Hanssen give a lecture to a group of international volunteers.  Varying in age and background, they all look blissfully happy to be there.  When I learn that they’ve been clearing invasive thornbush most days, I’m astounded they look so energized.   Donna goes into detail about the hardships of farming life, the struggles of working the land and the consequences of hundreds of years of uncontrolled grazing changing the landscape of Namibia.  I get the impression she’s given this talk countless times, but her passion is infectious.  This is the first time I’ve heard of transitioning to a conservation entity from a long-standing cattle farming tradition.

And she’s not alone, AfriCat employs a number of Namibians who also grew up on farms, or worked in the hunting industry.  I spoke with some of the AfriCat guides who regaled me with stories of fierce leopards, perilous hunts and shooting predators as teenagers on their family farm.  Now, they’re conservationists who can see both sides of the issue from a very personal point of view.

Sydney joined AfriCat after working on his family’s cattle farm and as a professional hunter.  Of the ‘born-free’ generation (born after 1990 when Namibia became an independent nation), he is of the new Namibia and brings a fresh energy to the message of conservation.   Sydney grew up on a cattle farm, which means growing up to hunt and to love nature.  “Where we grew up, from the old farmers’ side, from my father’s side and today as well, as soon as you see a predator you basically kill it.  As soon as we saw tracks, we would go out and track them down.  We had to kill them unfortunately, any predator out there.”

His turning point to conservation came early: “Dad was on holiday and we set out the box trap for a leopard that killed one of our calves.  The leopard was caught.  My dad was called and it came back to me that I had to shoot it.  Nobody was around and I took a chance and I called AfriCat.  They came out the next day.  My father never knew about it until last year when he came to visit AfriCat and saw a photo on the wall of me with the leopard being carried off the farm.

He’s changed now.  He understands the whole purpose of what we’re doing out here and even sending the message out to the farmers.”

When asked about his life now in conservation, Sydney says “I’m doing a job that I love and will be doing for the rest of my life.”

Donna Hanssen sat down for a chat on the big changes afoot for AfriCat.  She’s done a lot of soul-searching on what it means to be a conservationist, what defines success, ‘making a difference’ and how, after decades, AfriCat can improve their effectiveness. The organization is transitioning from a mission of rescue and rehabilitation to that of education.  Talking about humanity’s dangerous love for technological distraction and our deep need for nature, her walkie-talkie squawks through our conversation frequently.  I’m reminded of how, back in San Francisco, I’m tempted to smash my cell phone on the ground for a little bit of piece and quiet.

Speaking with Donna’s sister, Tammy Hoth at AfriCat North, she explains that conservation organizations were called upon to pick up problem causing animals so much that they were “becoming the easy way out for farmers, instead of trying to deal with the problem themselves.”  Thus, there are too many animals in their welfare.  AfriCat seeks to change the way they engage with farmers and focus on education and the youth of Namibia to keep animals in the wild as a long-term purpose of conservation.

I asked Tammy how receptive the communities are to their message.  “Very receptive, we are convincing them that wildlife has value, not only consumptive but sustainable in the long-term.  The animal must be worth more alive than dead and it’s an ongoing dialogue.  The new conservancies have a far-sighted approach.  AfriCat starts regionally to make sure the methods work and from there success stories can be duplicated.  It is about the economy.  In Namibia, if it pays it stays and we must remember this when working with communities.  Most cases farmers don’t plan to shoot the animal.  The farmer needs options.  Farmers are prepared to lose a certain percent, but if it becomes too high it becomes critical.”

The takeaway message from Donna and Tammy for the future of AfriCat and Namibia’s wildlife; Education is the key, for the youth of Namibia, for the farmer on the ground.

It’s evening in Okonjima.  I’m in an open vehicle with a guide searching for Tongs, a rewilded cheetah with a radio collar (her brother, Hammer, passed away shortly after my visit).  The Okonjima farm seems to extend forever, a huge property of rolling hills and big sky.  Amidst distant thunder and intermittent rain-showers, we find her signal.  Walking through the bush, I glance up to the high ridge and spot the tourists’ vehicle, guests enjoying their sundowners, and I wonder if they can see us down here on the ground, standing in front of a wild cheetah.   Tongs is relaxing in a small clearing.  She won’t let us get too close but tolerates a twenty-foot distance. Her hunting skills are legendary among the AfriCat staff, another successful story of releasing a cheetah into the wild.  I take a few closeup shots for their vet to get a better look at her physical condition and we leave her alone.  Like any cat, like any creature, she just wants to relax without being pestered.

All images & text: Marcy Mendelson © 2012 / Cheetah-Watch.com

The Cheetah Conservation Fund, headquartered in Otjiworongo, Namibia, is a recognized leader in the field of big cat conservation.  CCF is known for many projects, especially their captive cheetah population which number over fifty, some that can be returned to the wild, some that, for a variety of circumstances, cannot.  This creates the specialized need of caring for and feeding each cheetah.  The cheetah must run, and they must eat.

I’m in the back of a pickup (bakkie as its known in Africa) stained with blood.  The young ecologists, two American volunteers and myself, drive out to the area of CCF’s farm where the cheetah live.  Far from being fenced off in a tight enclosure, the cats reside in a vast area, hidden among the natural bush and grassland. The pickup is filled with freshly chopped up donkey meat, myself, another researcher, and a couple of wooden poles just in case one of the cheetah venture a little too close.  “Come come come COME!” she shouts as we drive through the bush and I make feeble attempts at steadying my camera over the rough road.  The horn is honked repeatedly and then, five cheetah appear out of nowhere, trotting and galloping behind the truck.  They aren’t at full speed.  While it feels like we’re traveling over 30mph, the cheetah are clearly slowing themselves down for us, occasionally tempted to overtake the truck.  After they trot for a good distance, we stop and the five cats pace around the rear, impatiently eyeing us and each other.  One by one, a piece of meat is tossed out and each of the big cats take their share without a fight but with loud, chilling warning growls.  They each run off to eat in seclusion.

Just few miles down the road, researchers are stationed in the Bellebenno 4,000 hectare camp to follow the progress of four male cheetah in a soft release area.  There is good news this morning, the brothers made a kill a few hours ago.  Ryan Sucaet, Head of Cheetah Re-Introductions took us to the carcass.  Viewing the kill up close is extraordinary, if one can stand the flies (which by this point in my travels I’ve acclimatized).  The teeth marks on the throat of the prey do not penetrate the skin.  Deep but not punctured, the cheetah crushes the windpipe, suffocating its prey.  With this successful period in the soft-release area, the four have proven they can be safely released.  Currently, CCF is searching for a suitable location for these males.

Founded during Namibia’s first year as an independent nation in 1990, CCF is a must-visit for anyone interested in the cheetah. The organization has done very well establishing a tourism business while maintaining 52 captive cheetah, as well as a research lab and a museum. The group also keeps busy hosting bus-loads of school children and delegates from all over the globe who come for their seminars on wildlife management. BushBlok, their model farm where feta cheese is produced and sold under the CCF name, the volunteer program and the livestock guard dog breeding… one gets dizzy just thinking about all their projects working toward the cheetah’s survival.

Founder and Director, Dr. Laurie Marker took some time from her busy schedule to give me a tour of a portion of their facilities, which included the Anatolian Shepherd’s new puppies, and their herd of goats, which produce CCF’s branded feta cheese.

If you are following any story in the news regarding the cheetah, you’ve seen Dr. Marker’s name along with Cheetah Conservation Fund.  They act as advisors on many international initiatives and are asked to comment on topics such as the controversial issue regarding the recent removal of three cheetah cubs from the Mara Conservancy in Kenya and the recently stalled reintroduction of cheetah to India. Regarding the reintroduction of cheetah to India, while the Supreme Court has put an indefinite hold on the project, it is still unclear if the project may resume at some point.  Throughout my travels in Southern Africa I was privy to many an off-the-record chat wherein people voiced strong concerns over the legitimacy of introducing another big cat to a country which is already struggling to save its lion and tiger populations, and whether there is an established, sustainable prey base.  One can only hope that placing the project on hold, or suspending it altogether, will mean a strengthening of existing big cat conservation initiatives in India resulting from this renewed publicity.  You can read CCF’s official statement here: CCF Statement on Indian Supreme Court Reports

Back to Namibia…. During a lunch break at CCF’s International Conservation Biology Course, Gail Potgieter, Livestock Guarding Dog & Human/ Wildlife Conflict Coordinator, gave me a rundown on the issues surrounding game farms and the need for research on the economic impact of predation on the Southern African hunting industry.  Instead of farming with domestic stock, a game farm is a breeding or hunting farm stocked with wildlife such as kudu, wildebeest, roan, sable, etc.  There is a tension between the predators roaming through and the farmer since their land is filled with natural prey.  Gail stresses to me the need for more research on the actual statistics of predation so that proactive measures can be put in place that benefit both sides rather than reactionary conflict.  She suggests more cooperation between neighboring game farms and expanding of conservancies is a good place to start.  According to Gail, “We must change the value (of cheetah), if we change the value first, then perceptions change.”  CCF stands as a hub for conversations like these, a cheetah think-tank if you can imagine, where dialogue is the first step and the cornerstone to successful human-cheetah co-existence.

All images, video & text: Marcy Mendelson © 2012 / Cheetah-Watch.com

Report by: Chris Mercer.  

Campaign against Canned Hunting Inc. (CACH)

No Relief from Gin traps for South Africa’s wildlife.

REPORT ON WILDLIFE FORUM MEETING IN CAPE TOWN ON 11^th JUNE, 2012

Present were the MEC Anton Bredell, Harry Prinsloo and four other members of the farming industry, Justin O’riain, Dr Quinton Martins from Cape Leopard Trust, Annie from Cheetah Outreach, Kas Hamman, Jaco van Deventer and Ernst Baard from Cape Nature, Adri Kitshoff from PHASA, Mick D’Alton from W. Cape Hunters Association, Chris Mercer from CACH, Jenni Trethowan of Baboon Matters and Louise v.d. Merwe and Tozie Zokufa from Humane Education Trust.  Notable absentee:  Cape SPCA.

Veterinarian Marc Walton was elected Chariman and he chaired the meeting ably.

The farmers’ concerns were expressed at the very outset: they wanted a blanket permit for each farmer to decide for himself how to combat predation in any way he deemed fit, and without any permits.

It was pointed out that this would be unlawful, and Government could not support a lawless free for all.

The gin trap issue sparked frank and lively debate, which lasted three hours.

The conservationist/animal welfare contingent were deeply unhappy about the draft protocol drawn up by Cape Nature with the Predator Management arm of the farming industry. The draft was criticized as:

1. Reintroducing the hunt clubs

2. Offending both the Constitution and national conservation legislation

3. Prolonging a policy – indeed a culture – of lethal methods of problem animal control which had been used for 350 years and been proved to be both cruel, destructive of biodiversity – and ineffective.

Non-lethal alternatives.

What alternatives to killing were put up for debate; why the farmers rejected them; and whether those reasons are convincing.

1. Herders. One suggestion was that farmers employ herders.   The farmers declined this option citing South Africa’s rigid and onerous labor laws as a disincentive to employ herders.    Hey, farmers have been killing predators in SA for 350 years, even when labour was cheap and farmers could hire and fire at will.  Only recently have new labour laws been imposed on farmers, and whilst inconvenient to employers everywhere, raising this objection now to justify destruction of biodiversity by farmers looks to me like an excuse rather than a real reason.

2. Kraaling at night. We proposed that farmers kraal their livestock at night, instead of leaving them alone out in the veld at the mercy of predators.  This proposal met with no interest, the farmers saying that herding the animals into a safe camp at night would cause erosion in that vicinity.  Again, I do not find this reason convincing.  Erosion occurs around drinking points, but farmers do not stop giving water to livestock.

3. ‘Soft’ gin traps. Another suggestion was for farmers to surrender their awful old gin traps for somewhat less barbaric, ‘soft’ traps, which are not quite so bone breaking – if adjusted and used correctly – and monitored every day!  I do not know why the Forum could not at least find consensus on this, at least as an interim measure. I do not believe that this is an ethical alternative, especially since we know that existing traps are not monitored every day.  Every type of trap requires rigorous monitoring, and farmers have other tasks to do.

4. Anatolian sheep dogs and other guard animals. Some farmers use these with reportedly good results, but there are only one hundred of these dogs working, and there are sixteen hundred wool farmers alone in the Western Cape.  Ostriches were not mentioned though we have seen how aggressive ostriches are with predators.

The farmers believe that a para-military lethal onslaught on problem animals was the only possible solution – despite all the evidence to the contrary.

Members of the Forum were of the view that the farmers were indeed suffering stock losses from predators and that something needed to be done, but that the proposed lethal onslaught would only serve to damage biodiversity and would not solve the farmers’ problem. After all, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and again, and expecting a different result.

It is my personal opinion that the sale, use and possession of all gin traps, and the use of poison, should be banned outright.  This would then compel (law-abiding) farmers to look at different forms of predator management.    Poison and gin traps are so indiscriminate, so environmentally ruinous, that I am still confused as to why so many farmers adamantly insist upon  going down a road that is 350 years old and has proved to be ineffective.

Unless the farmers become more open to change, negative perceptions against the industry will spread, and farmers – along with our wildlife heritage – will be the losers.

Chris Mercer and Bev Pervan
Campaign Against Canned Hunting, Sec 21 NGO
www.cannedlion.org
Co-authors of:
Kalahari Dream www.kalahari-dream.com
For the love of Wildlife www.fortheloveofwildlife.com

For the background to this Forum read : Should South Africa Issue Permits to Hunt Predators?

In response to my earlier blog post, Speak Out: Should South Africa Issue Permits to Hunt Predators,
Acting CEO of CapeNature (CEO Manana Moroka has been suspended as of May 2012 without details released to the public) Dr. Kas Hamman has this to say:

Dear Marcy

Thank you for your interest in this matter and the opportunity to comment.   We trust that your readers made use of the opportunity provided to comment on the document posted on our web site on or prior to the 5 June closing date.

We gave the undertaking to consider all comments received by 5 June as part of the public response.  We will publish a response, once all comments have been collated and assessed.

It is, however, important to note that the conflict between farmers and Damage Causing Animals (DCA’s) in South Africa has been on-going for almost 400 years.  CapeNature encourage and advise farmers to practice holistic methods including shepherding, Anatolian dogs, etc. The draft Protocol advocates the principle that, as a last resort, the individual DCA and not the entire species, should be targeted.

It is also important to note that the Western Cape has been and still remains, one of the strictest provinces regarding the management of DCA’s.  To date we have not issued permits for the use of gin traps or helicopters to manage or control DCAs.  You are welcome to read more about the historical background in the conservation of Damage Causing Animals on our website.  We also recommend that your readers obtain factually accurate information on the management and control of DCAs in the rest of South Africa to objectively compare it with the perceived situation relating to the Western Cape.

Kind regards
Dr. Kas Hamman
Acting Chief Executive Office

For an opposing view, The Campaign Against Canned Hunting states:

Basically it re-introduces the horrors of the OranjeJag hunt clubs to our province, providing for regional extinction of valuable species such as caracals, jackals and bushpigs. Peer pressure from District farmers’ associations will compel most landowners to open their land to the hunters. The indiscriminate eradication of whole species in whole districts bristles with legal, constitutional and conservation objections, viz:

* Caracals are listed as Appendix 11 in CITES, and therefore specially protected in terms of national legislation and regulations. Cape Nature may not have the legal authority to enter in to such an agreement.

* The landowner’s various constitutional rights may well be violated by the invasion of his property by the hunters, if his consent has not been freely given.

* Research by Rob Harrison-White and others show that mass eradication is based on ignorance of the habits and behaviour of predators and in particular the protection from nomads given by resident predators.

There are no problem animal issues (sorry, DCA issues) that cannot be solved by simple management changes, such as employing herders and bringing the flocks in at night.
There is no need for mass eradication of wildlife, and in the age of the Internet, this could well cause a consumer backlash.

We hope that CN will not proceed with this ill-conceived initiative, and we need to debate it on 11th June at the Wildlife Forum.

Regards
Chris.

Chris Mercer and Bev Pervan
Campaign Against Canned Hunting, Sec 21 NGO
www.cannedlion.org

In response to CapeNature’s proposal to allow permits for massive hunting of small predators in South Africa, Dereck Joubert has this to say:

To Whom it may Concern,

It has come to our attention that there is a draft proposal asking for comments by tomorrow.

The National Geographic Big Cats Initiative is an emergency effort designed to step in as big cats decline. In 50 years we have seen a virtual crash from 450,000 to 20,000 lions, and best estimates of leopards from 700,000 to 50,000. Tigers are all but extinct (900 in India) and cheetah at perhaps 12,000 are in poor numbers. This represents a crash of 95% in that time across the board.

Big cats keep smaller predators in check and what you are dealing with is a very predictable natural response to the extermination of larger predators in an ecosystem. Your proposal however is disturbing because it too is predictable. The outcome will never be a balanced ecosystem and is just one more step in the systematic extermination of all predatory species anywhere near human settlement.

Disturbing also to us is the language you use in this draft, focusing on ‘hunting’ which is largely now associated with sport and recreation. It seems to me that you are opening up an avenue for a wave of very active sport hunting against smaller predators in large numbers that will end in the eventual annihilation of these species. Like the large cats that keep control of the smaller ones, these mid and small sized predators keep rats and mice and snakes and a range of even smaller animals in check and I have no doubt at all that what you are starting here today will be the end of any natural and balanced ecosystem in your region.
It seems to me that there are lessons to be learned from what we have done and are doing in big cat conservation:

• firstly, we would not be spending millions of dollars a year protecting big cats if we had taken a step back when faced with exactly the choice you are facing with smaller predators today.
• we are finding it easier to protect livestock that keep predators at bay in conflict zones. It makes sense to place ownership on the livestock owners to fence adequately and protect in a passive not invasive way. Understand that we, humans, and we, agriculturalists are the invasive species if you place it in context. Also it is humans that have the most resources and understanding to prevent conflict.
• Livestock and crops are privately owned. Nature and its predators are a national resource. It seems that this initiative is giving the private sector every advantage to enhance their commercial benefit, at the more common prejudice of the nation (and national resource.) in essence if you decide to farm, you need to build in to the business plan the protection of your product, in the same way as a inventor should patent his invention and protect it. If he is not prepared to do that, it is wrong of him to expect the state to kill its own stock to compensate for his lack of foresight. If this were equally distributed in legal terms with a private body owning livestock and another private body owning predators, and one person’s stock was harming another’s (after all means to protect livestock and crops have been exhausted) there would still be an avenue of compensation first, before the predator would need to be put down.
  

Lastly the methods that are experimental today will become common practice tomorrow, but the baiting, calling, trapping, and shooting from helicopters is not just seen as bad ethics, poor taste but will also be seem as you using every possible method of extermination and you will have a PR disaster on your hands.

We’d strongly urge you to reconsider if only for the PR impact you are about to step into. The impact on large landscapes of nature is a much more complex issue that distributing permits to shoot it back into submission.
South Africa distinguishes itself in PR today on three basic stories if you trawl the world’s newspapers:

• It is unable to or unwilling to stop rhino poaching.
• It is unwilling to take a stand on Canned Lion hunting,
• and it is opening up more and more opportunities to sell lion bone into the bone market. This harms all big cats and all the efforts of conservation world wide.
  

I would be worried about your adding to that roster of undesirable or uncooperative actions to the international effort to help protect the environment in today’s world where all eyes on on environmental abuse and where all eyes are on every action every moment of every day.

I was in a symposium recently on tourism. The overriding comment to the South Africans was: If you cannot protect your rhino, who will you protect me? An extension of that will be drawn from this: If you don’t care about your nature, why as a tourist should I care about visiting your country?

It is something to be taken seriously.

Please feel free to contact me for further discussion. I will be following this issue very closely.

Dereck Joubert
National Geographic Big Cats Initiative