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THE HANSSEN, THE OKONJIMA & THE AFRICAT STORY

Okonjima, home of The AfriCat Foundation, was established as a small 'guest farm' in 1986.
For generations, the Hanssen Family had been avid cattle farmers until the need for solutions to increasing livestock losses and post-independence interest in Namibia as a tourist destination, changed the face of Okonjima, as well as that of Carnivore Conservation.
With the family still at the helm, Okonjima now encompasses a dedicated team and a variety of accommodation facilities, offering you, our guest, a truly Namibian stay…     

Established in 1993, The AfriCat Foundation started off as a sanctuary for Cheetah and Leopard rescued from irate, livestock farmers.
Today, AfriCat is dedicated to the protection and long-term conservation of all large carnivores in Namibia and has since become renowned for much-needed Environmental Education, Carnivore Research and Animal Welfare.

Environmental Education Programmes amongst Namibia’s youth as well as the farming community are aimed at promoting greater tolerance of carnivores through:  

  1. Environmental Awareness Programmes and
  2. Mitigating farmer-predator conflict on farmland, through improved livestock protection methods
  3. Carnivore Research is imperative in order to establish effective management strategies and techniques, thereby supporting the sustainable conservation of each species
  4. The Welfare Programme includes rescue, release and rehabilitation of a large number of confiscated, injured and orphaned carnivores

The AfriCat Foundation is based on the farm Okonjima; this mutually beneficial relationship allows for interested visitors to experience, first hand, the works of The Project, gaining valuable insight into carnivore conservation and, at the same time, creating the platform for donating much-needed funds to The Project and its Programmes.

1.   Okonjima - an Intoduction
2.   Tourism at Okonjima
3.   AfriCat - Small Beginnings....
4.   The AfriCat - Okonjima Relationship
5.   The AfriCat Foundation - Objectives
6.   Management
7.   Local Community Implications
8.   Distribution and Density
9.   Okonjima - An intensive leopard study site
10. Tourism today
11. Conclusion