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.
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