August cheetah update
Yesterday we released cheetah nr 13 into the new, Okonjima 16 000ha rehab reserve!!!
TONGS is actually ‘Hammer’s’ sister. If you have been following AfriCat’s latest, new & exciting release project – you will remember that Hammer was part of the 1st group of captive cheetahs released on the 18th of May 2010.
Tongs could unfortunately not join her sibling and the rest of the group, as she had to see the dentist and needed some recovery time . . . as we all do after spending a day with our dentist!
Tongs – like brother Hammer is 5 years old. (MAY 2010)
Hammer and his sister Tongs were captured by a farmer after he shot their mother. The siblings were around a year old at the time and they spent another year at the farm before AfriCat was contacted to come and collect them. During their time in captivity they had become used to people and as a result could not be released onto farmland.
Incidentally the group and Tongs did not hit it off! (see video clip on our FACE BOOK page soon) We suspect that perhaps they had been separated for too long? Carla and Dave spent the whole morning, protecting her from the others, slowly allowing her to find herself in this very new and unfamiliar environment. After a few hours she still did not feel comfortable enough to join the group as we all had hoped . . . and has gone off on her own.
We will monitor her closely and perhaps with time she will connect with her brother again and become part of the original group?!
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