Great article on Dr. Marker and CCF

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/rare-breed.html

Two female sub-adult oryx on the right!

One of the primary roles that CCF has taken on is serving as a community leader in wildlife conservation and management. Concerned farmers, land owners and members of the local community band together to form conservencies or large protected areas for natural resources and animals. As a key member of the Waterberg Conservency, CCF conducts surveys of animal numbers in key areas. These reports are taken on a regular basis. For example, surveys on "the big field," a Serengeti like open savannah area on CCF property, are taken on 3 consecutive days and or nights. These numbers are consolidated and studied to reveal trends about the status of local wild life populations. Volunteers get to participate in the game counts and (amazingly) we became quite adept at identifying different animals, their sex and whether they were adults/sub-adults.

One of the most important pieces of data is the health of the medium sized game population, the main source of prey for cheetahs. CCF hopes to be a leader in showing farmers that game can and should live in harmony with their livestock. This way local land owners can maintain the delicate balance between man and nature. It will also ensure the survival of the wild cheetah in Namibia, the primary goal of CCF.

We were lucky to see a multitude of wildlife during these game counts and while taking part in our daily activities while at CCF. We saw: zebras (and babies), giraffe (and babies), oryx, eland, kudu, springbok, red hartebeest (pronounced "artibis"), black faced impala, steenbok, warthogs, mongoose, cheetah, hyena, black backed jackal, bat eared fox, aardwolf, black rhino, turtles, monitor lizards, spitting cobra, camelions, ostrich, Cape doves, Cape sparrows, yellow hornbill, lilac breasted rollers, Maribou stork, Coribustards, black korhan, secretary bird, vultures, guinea fowl, crimson breasted shrike, spiders, scrub hare and the largest centipede ever seen (lucky us - right outside our rondovel)!

The photos above show: oryx/jackal, oryx, warthog, lilac breasted roller and red hartebeest.

Written by Kim.

Cheetahs and dogs??? Huh?

What do anatolian shepherds have to do with cheetahs? CCF and Dr Laurie Marker have chosen to focus on the Anatolian guard dog (Turkish) to provide protection to local farmers' small stock. This keeps predators, including cheetahs, away from the herd and reduces farmer shooting of cheetahs.

The dogs are known for their guarding ability. CCF breeds and raises the dogs on location. Dogs are placed with local farmers and flocks at a very young age to facilitate the bonding process. With careful training, the dog will grow up to protect it's flock from predator attacks. Throughout the dog's life, CCF makes visits to ensure good health, good performance, and that they are being appropriately utilized. If a dog falls ill, is not treated well, or is not performing as desired, the dog is brought back to CCF to be nursed back to health or retrained. This pilot program has been very successful and the waiting list is currently several years long for Namibian farmers to obtain dogs.

We were lucky to arrive just after puppies had been born and got to participate in puppy feeding and (when no one was looking) puppy hugging. It was sad to see the pups leave and be given away, but cool to see the Guard Dog program in action.

In the photos above, Gail is walking Timbo, a lovable dog-in-retraining, and SuperDog, the last puppy, is checking out the goat pen.

Written by Kim.

Take an umbrella!

Animal blinds are an amazing and close up vantage point from which to conduct game counts. The blinds are low, green, cinder block buildings, approximately 8 x 11. A foot wide, slit-like, horizontal window allows volunteers to view the game. Blinds are strategically located near water holes, man made or natural sources of water, where animals come to drink, lick and (in the case of a warthog) bathe. As the animals can't see the volunteers inside the blind, it is a great vantage point for CCF's 12 hour surveys (6am to 6pm). These surveys are taken on a regular basis, and the data is compiled to get an accurate assessment on the health of area wildlife and most importantly the health of animals that cheetah prey upon.

It was amazing to be so close to the animals and to have the opportunity to observe them at ease. We saw one oryx spending considerable time grooming herself and a male giraffe herding his family through the area. Three juvenile giraffes played together and one oryx spent a very long time looking at our blind, quite puzzled.

Matti had warned us to "take an umbrella" and he was right. It turned out that the blind was not waterproof. At 4pm, there was a huge thunderstorm and downpour. The sketchy roof covering gave way and we squeezed ourselves into the one dry square foot, only to be dripped upon mercilessly. At 6pm, we were holding up the roof and standing on a mat, as the blind was flooding. Luckily, Matt came early to pick us up and we were able to laugh the whole way through.

Written by Kim

Early morning with the Florida students

Every year a group of undergraduate and graduate students come out to CCF to do a study abroad program to focus on the amazing learning lab for ecology and wildlife that CCF provides. The students live on the Cheetah View farm on CCF. The students make a presentation in a chosen area of study as well as take weekly tests. The students say that this program is "no walk in the park!" FSU students also conducts specialized studies to include a study of local birds with bird nets, a study of local reptiles, and a study of bats and of small mammals. Each of these studies provides CCF with valuable data on the health of each of these animal populations. As Earth Watch volunteers, we had the honor of taking part in the bird study.

That morning, our group caught a crimson breasted shrike in the nets. The FSU leader took measurements, and gave us a very detailed briefing of this rare and beautiful bird.

The highlight of our day was the release of a spitting cobra. It had been caught the day before near CCF buildings and was released in a more remote area. That is one mean snake!

Written by Kim.

See Cheetah Run!

Seeing the grace and dexterity of a cheetah running is one of the most amazing sights! At CCF, one of the ways to exercise the cheetahs is through a "cheetah run" - a rag on a string/pulley system, which moves in a big square (couple hundred feet). The moving rag incites the cheetah chase instinct and off they go! We were excited to witness the inauguration of a new cheetah run, which several volunteers/staff worked hard to create. At first, three adult cheetahs had a go, and then the cubs were brought in - a great success!

The first photo shows Matt and Goran setting up the cheetah run, followed by different cheetahs having fun/getting exercise. I didn't feel that the photos captured even a smidgeon of the beauty of cheetahs running, but hope that some of it is conveyed.

Joyce's photos

Joyce was another Earthwatch volunteer on our trip. She has some wonderful photos, which you can see by clicking on "joyce's photos" above. My particular favorite is of the donkey's head:

Moving Bella

Bella was a young female cheetah who had come to CCF very traumatized. She was initially in her own pen and was very skittish and fearful. While we were at CCF, we (Kim, Janice, Rachel, Goran - all volunteers) helped move Bella to a new, larger pen with a roommate: Padme. Padme was an older female and it was hoped that Bella would do better with a friend and mentor. To move her, Bella was placed in a wooden box and transported in the bakkie. She did not seem to initially like her new surroundings, but settled down, as Padme worked hard to make friends with her. In the second photo, Bella is the smaller cheetah, and Padme is cozying up to her.

Cheetah feeding

One of the many highlights of the trip was to participate in cheetah feeding. They usually eat donkey meat (and sometimes horse), with the donkey head being a particular delight (top photo). Six days a week, the cheetahs are given a honking piece of meat. Sometimes, the cheetahs are given their food in bowls (second photo), sometimes the food is thrown over the pen fence (third photo) and sometimes the cheetahs chase after the moving bakkie and are thrown their food. The last is thrilling - to see the grace and elegance of them running (second to last photo).

More Cheetahs!!

I took over 200 photos of cheetahs, but didn't want to bore everyone, so I've tried to pick out my best and add them here. Enjoy! (If you look closely at the "eye" picture, you can see the back of our bakkie!)

Cheetahs!

from Kim:

Local farmers tend to see cheetahs as pests, and also as predators and threats to their small stock (goats and sheep). The most important role of CCF is direct cheetah conservation. These efforts include cheetah rescue, release of wild cheetahs, feeding and maintenance of captive cheetahs and using cheetahs as ambassadors to the world, CCF serves are a refuge for cheetahs in Namibia. Farmers call in to report nuisance cheetahs and CCF comes to pick them up, saving the cheetahs life. Young cheetahs are often not able to survive on their own. These cheetahs serve as CCF ambassadors for young and old to learn about the cheetah's fight for survival in Namibia. CCF gives these cheetahs a protected place to flourish and reestablish a strong foothold. This photo pictures Dr. Laurie Marker, the head and founder of CCF and Kate and Matt, who are the cheetah keepers (cool job title, huh?), with Little C, who lives in one of the center pens on CCF.

Ron-doe-vel or ron-dov-vel?

The accommodations/food/facilities at CCF were great! We stayed in a cozy rondovel, with an amazing view of the Waterberg Plateau (photo taken at sunrise). The only downside was needing to put on a raincoat to go to the bathroom at night.

First Day at CCF (Cheetah Conservation Fund)

from Kim:

Our first day at CCF. We were very honored that Laurie took time out of her busy day to give us a personal tour.


The purpose of CCF

Dr Laurie Marker is the foremost cheetah specialist in the world. She came to Namibia in the late 1970s to study cheetah behavior. After learning of the plight of Namibia cheetahs trying to survive on Namibian farmlands, she established the Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF) with the motto "we can live together."
CCF provides a comprehensive solution to cheetah conservation and addresses the needs of people, plants and animals. Its operation encompasses four main areas: small stock management (goats and sheep), ecological management, a guard dog program and cheetah conservation and rescue.

Link to CCF: http://www.cheetah.org/?nd=home

First time......

from Kim:

- ...touching a cheetah (thank you Chewbakka, Quasar, Soriah, littleC)
-.....riding a hot air balloon (oh wait, scratch that)
-....seeing a spitting cobra in action
- .....taking part in an Florida State University (FSU) bird study and identifying a rare bird (scarlet breasted shrike)
- ...not taking part in the FSU reptile study
- ....riding in the back of a bakkie at 60 km/hr
-....lighting a gas stove with a match (or starve for breakfast)
-....tasting biltong (beef or game jerky)
-...getting stuck in a thorn bush (we were thorned!)
-...throwing raw donkey meat to running wild cheetahs from the back of a bakkie
-.....seeing a "cheetah run" (moving mechanical running track for cheetahs to simulate chasing prey)
-....eating kudu, eland and oryx (large antelope)
-...seeing Fairy Circles (mysterious circles throughout Namibia)
-...running, hopping, skipping down dune 45
-...taking part in a Namibian bird survey
-...completing a 12 hour game count in an animal blind with animals only feet away
-...surviving a torrential down pour in an animal blind with a mesh roof ("you should take an umbrella!" Matti--our supervisor)
-...dipping 300 goats, sheep and kiddings in bathtub for external parasites and getting soaking wet (with poopy water)
-...volunteering for Earth Watch
-...visiting Namibia
-...living in a rondovel
-...visiting the Namibian desert
-..visiting Etosha Salt Pan (or any salt pan, for that matter)
-...going on a scat walk (putting bountiful cheetah poop in a bag with no gloves)
-..attending a small stock class in Afrikaans and English with Namibia farmers (all the good jokes were in Afrikaans)

Meeting cheetahs

We were very lucky to be able to get close to the cheetahs. I was amazed by how quickly their personalities surfaced. Although I never learned all their names (Hershey, Cruise, Merlot, Leia, Chanel, Hermione....), I did appreciate that Shadow was dark and seemed to slink around; Solo doesn't so much have eyebrows but dimples near her eyes; Ombdillo was ornery, Ron was lazy and Harry was mischievous.

In the photos below, I am with Chewbakka, the icon of CCF and also with the six month old cubs: Soraya, Phoenix and Quasar. Kim is shown with LittleC and Dr. Laurie Marker, the founder of CCF.