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THE STORY OF OUR ‘TUSK TRUST’
CHEETAH REHABILITATION PARK

AFRICAT RESEARCH - cheetah rehabilitation

Although hunting is instinctive in carnivores, many of the cheetahs at AFRICAT lack experience due to being orphaned or removed from the wild at an early age.
This inexperience, as well as their conditioning to captivity, makes them unsuitable for release. The ten thousand-acre (4500 ha) TUSK TRUST CHEETA REHABILITATION PARK provides these cheetahs with the opportunity to hone their hunting skills and become self-sustaining and thereby giving them a chance to return to the wild.
The cheetahs are fitted with radio-collars prior to their release into the camp so that their welfare and progress can be closely monitored. Once they have proved that they can hunt for themselves and cope on their own, they can be relocated to a private game reserve, where their progress will continue to be monitored. 

The 4500-hectare (10 000 acres) TUSK TRUST CHEETAH REHABILITATION PARK was completed towards the end of 1999 and stocked with game by mid 2000. Our first cheetahs, 3 orphan sibling males [Huey, Dewey & Louis], who had been with us since they were two months old, were released into the rehabilitation area in November 2000. These cheetahs were monitored daily and despite having no hunting experience were successful in sustaining themselves almost from the start with hunts that included kudu, impala, scrub hares, hartebeest, zebra, steenbok and duiker. Finding water was another obstacle and we had to keep a close watch over them, often providing all three with water from the AfriCat feeding vehicle.
Sadly two of the cheetahs died after 7 months [Huey & Louis]. Tests indicated ‘anthrax’ as the cause of death. The surviving cheetah was closely monitored but did not suffered any ill effects. The sad and unfortunate death of the two does not detract from the overall goal of the project - three orphan cheetahs had the instinct to hunt and were able to sustain themselves.

On the morning of the 9th May 2002, we introduced 4 new cheetahs into the park [Eeny, Meeny, Miney & Mo] with the hope that they would achieve the same success: with the goal being to relocate them to a game reserve or game park, thereby giving them a second chance in the wild where they belong!

These four had lived with their mother for approx. 12 months before she was shot; thereafter, they spent nearly 2½ years at AfriCat.  Once they were released, they split into 2 groups; instinctively, they knew how to hunt and both pairs were successful from the start… Miney and Mo killing their first warthog within 3 days of being released into the wild!
         
At the end of August the opportunity arose for one of the pairs (Eeny & Meeny) to be relocated to a 27 000 ha private game reserve in southern Namibia.  Since relocation, their well-being has been monitored on a regular basis and they are doing very well. Recent reports have indicated that they are less habituated and it is becoming increasingly difficult to monitor their movements – proof that some captive Cheetahs can be successfully rehabilitated!

Miney and Mo, who remained at AFRICAT, were also monitored daily, by radio-tracking them on foot. Guests at Okonjima participated in the tracking of these rehabilitated cheetahs on the ‘Cheetah Tracking Trail’, and love being part of this very new and exciting research project.     
Sadly in Feb 2004, Miney was gorged through the heart by an oryx and died next to Mo. Mo stayed by his side for nearly 4 days, before he moved on. . .

[The next 4 cheetahs - as well as previous survivors Mo and Dewey, also form part of the study group for the thermoregulation research project.

Following the implant surgery, Mo and Dewey were introduced to each other and kept in a holding-camp for two weeks, before they were released back into the TUSK TRUST CHEETAH REHABILITATION PARK

ZEUS, APOLLO, ATHENA & ARTEMIS
The next 4 cheetahs that were deprived of the chance to learn hunting as well as life skills from their mother were, Zeus, Apollo, Athena and Artemis. She was shot, leaving them orphaned at the age of six months. Too young to be released on their own, they came into AfriCat’s care in February 2001.           
Now five years old - these siblings, known to us as the “Greek Gods”, are getting a second chance to live as they would in the wild and hunt for themselves.

During the surgery to implant temperature data loggers, the ‘Greek Gods’ were also fitted with radio-collars, enabling daily monitoring of health and condition, as well as observation of behaviour and hunting successes. After surgery they were placed in a holding-camp adjacent to the rehabilitation area, where we could watch them closely for any complications that may have arisen. Two weeks later (middle October 2005) we opened the gate and coaxed them out with food.

All of them stayed fairly close to the release point for the first four days, with Athena moving off from her siblings from the start and only rejoining them again on the fourth day. Together they ventured a little further a field and settled down in an area in the south-west corner, where they remained for just over a week. Had this group remained in the wild they would have split up not long after their mother had left them, which is usually around the age of eighteen months. Adult female cheetahs are solitary, while male siblings may choose to go off on their own or stay together as a coalition or “brother group”. Given time these siblings may still exhibit this natural social behaviour but, after the first five weeks, there have only been two other occasions when the four haven’t been seen together. From these observations it appears that the separations have not been intentional, as the times spent apart were fairly brief and the distances between the separated individuals and the rest of the group were relatively short.
It may have been possible that the four were catching small prey in between the observation periods, but nothing that made a significant impact on the size of their stomachs. In comparison to the previous two groups released into the rehabilitation area, these cheetahs took longer to exhibit any from of hunting behaviour and have therefore required more supplementary feeds. Slight hunger obviously provides more of an incentive to at least initiate hunting behaviour but the cheetahs also need sufficient energy to chase and catch the prey they require to sustain themselves. It is difficult to determine the frequency, timing and quantity of supplementary feeds to maintain the right balance.

The first kill observed, a scrub hare, was lead by Artemis; hardly a square meal for four cheetahs, but it was a start. Just as we were thinking that the hare had been pure luck and the Greek Gods weren’t ever going to cotton on to what they were supposed to do, they caught a steenbok. Although this presented a slightly larger meal, it still wasn’t enough to sustain them for very long, but it was quickly devoured with not a scrap of meat left. Ten days later they caught another steenbok but since then, besides a few half-hearted chases, they haven’t shown much interest in being self-sufficient.

Just as we started wondering what we were going to do with these 4, it looked as if the penny had finally dropped. Within two days Zeus, Apollo, Athena and Artemis had caught a steenbok and a female kudu, but it had taken them just over a month before they were independent and did not need our help any more.

Orphaned at an early age, these cats have missed out on all that they should have learnt from their mother while growing up – not only hunting skills and techniques but the essential “life-skills” needed to survive in the wild. These cheetahs can now only learn these “life-skills” by way of experience; lessons often being hard and unfortunately, sometimes fatal. Knowing which other predators to avoid and when to back off and relinquish hard-earned prey are just two of the lessons they have had to learn so far during their rehabilitation. It was during one of these situations that Zeus, confronting a leopard in an attempt to guard the siblings’ recently-caught impala, was seriously injured (Dec 2005). The leopard bite caused severe damage to the spine. After various treatments and medications the paralysis to his hind-legs was found to be permanent and sadly we had him put down.  Apollo seemed to be the only one to miss Zeus, calling for him for about three days, but the siblings continued to hunt successfully as before.

Just over two weeks later Athena had to be darted and taken to the vet. She had injured her front left paw quite badly, the wound requiring stitches. Confined­ to a small camp to recuperate she was darted again three days later so that the bandage could be removed. The wound was healing well until she pulled out all the stitches and had to return to the vet. Second time round the bandage was kept on for a week, which seemed to do the trick and Athena was reunited with her siblings in the rehabilitation­ area in the middle of January 2006. A couple of hours later she ventured off on her own and hunted solo ever since, coping well. November 2006 she was fatally wounded by a leopard, but what a spirit she had! Artemis and Apollo make a good team and are regularly successful hunters, although Artemis seems to initiate the chase before Apollo joins in. 

MO

Mo was on the move immediately, re-exploring his old territories and covering vast distances. A day later he caught a warthog.
Mo stayed true to form, completely independent and an excellent hunter, with prey ranging from small steenbok to large kudus.
Being on his own, Mo learnt a number of “life skill” lessons – avoiding injuries from the horns, tusks or hooves of prey animals and knowing which other predators to avoid. But in spite of the injuries he sustained from a warthog tusk, a young zebra’s hooves and a bite from a leopard, he recuperated quickly and continued to be a champion hunter. Sadly Mo was killed by the territorial Leopard TJ, in November 2006. He was a star!

DEWEY
Dewey met up with three of the Greek Gods during their initial separation from Athena but this was only for a day; when Athena returned, they left him to his own devices. Later in the week he was seen eating a jackal, not the first time he has chosen this unusual prey.
Dewey, however, wandered around aimlessly and seemed to have lost the will to find his own food. We fed him on a number of occasions and then he surprised us by catching an adult warthog. Two days later he had moved away from the kill site but, from his appearance and behaviour, it didn’t seem as if he had eaten anything. He looked a bit thin so we decided to feed him. We realised that something was wrong when we checked on him the next day. He was still in the same place, lying next to his piece of meat, having only eaten a few mouthfuls.

We brought him in, putting him in a holding-camp so that we could keep a close eye on him. He ate for the next two days and then started vomiting undigested food.  He lost his appetite and a lot of weight. He was treated for gastritis and eventually the vomiting stopped. His appetite returned and we gradually increased his food intake.
Once his condition picked up and we were sure that he had fully recovered, he was released back into the Rehabilitation Park under close observation. . .
The symptoms of his illness did not reoccur and he was back to catching his own food and taking care of himself. He was doing so well that when his radio-collar­ gave a mortality signal early May 2006, we thought that the collar was faulty. Sadly, this wasn’t the case; Dewey had been killed in a fight with the territorial male leopard.

Watch this space for updated news on CHEETAH REHABILITATION!

Cheetah FAST FACTS:

• A ‘Rehabilitated Cheetah’ is an orphaned cheetah, that has NOT been hand-raised, but has been in captivity from a cub to adulthood, and is now hunting on its own and been given a second chance to return to the wild.
  
  
• It is important to remember that AfriCat’s cheetah rehabilitation programme was initiated to give some of our captive cheetahs an opportunity to return to their natural environment. Although hunting in carnivores is instinctive, many of the cheetahs at AfriCat lack experience due to being orphaned or removed from the wild at an early age.
  
  
• All the rehabilitated cheetahs are monitored daily by radio-tracking them on foot and guests can participate in the tracking of these rehabilitated cheetahs on our "Cheetah Tracking Trail”

• Besides giving orphaned cheetahs a chance to return to the wild, the success of this project provides other substantial benefits. It gives us the opportunity to assess whether rehabilitation is a successful means of conserving an endangered population and also allows for the number of cheetahs in captivity to be reduced.
  
  
• The Cheetah – Acinonyx jubatus
  
  
• Shoulder height:  
• Male 79,62cm
• Female 77,71cm
  
  
• Length (tip of nose to base of tail):
• Male  132,57cm
• Female   127.48cm
  
• Base of tail to end of tail:
• Male 77.35
• Female 73.73 
  
  
• Weight:  
• Male 46,25kg
• Female 39,40kg
  
  
• Habitat:   Cheetahs are found in a wide range of habitats. It is generally accepted that they are diurnal but have also been observed hunting on nights when there is sufficient moonlight.
  
• Gestation:   90 – 95 days
  
  
• Diet:   A carnivorous species. Preys on medium size antelope, guinea fowl, hares etc - even jackal at times. Prey is run down at considerable speed over short distances and bowled over by having the hind legs knocked out from under it. Death is brought about by strangulation. It will not eat carrion or anything that has not been freshly killed. Hunting is aided by excellent sight.

The WSPA / AFRICAT ENVIRONMENTAL Education centre
AFRICAT’S EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMME:

AFRICAT’S Education Centre continues to operate successfully. After many years of working with the farming community it became clear that Youth Education was vital to the long-term conservation of large carnivores. The WSPA (World Society for the Protection of Animals) / AfriCat Environmental Education Centre opened in April 1998 with the objective of promoting predator and environmental awareness among Namibian youth. It is our hope that by visiting the Centre and participating in the AfriCat education program, the children and young adults of Namibia will gain a new sense of understanding of the natural world and the importance of wildlife conservation.

OKONJIMA CONSERVATION VISION
OKONJIMA’S 22 000ha Private Park operates under a master plan of veld and wildlife management that will ultimately return the land to it’s natural state, and there are no cattle or other alien mammal species permitted in the area. This ongoing project, headed by the Hanssen family has nearly removed all internal fences and the control of undesirable bush encroachment and management of water resources, hides and new bush roads is ongoing.

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