Feed Orphan Cheetahs in Namibia

Kamin and Elwood

Sadly, in early September 2019 Elwood was found dead and Kamin severely injured. Based on the injuries and signs from the area, it seems that they were attacked by lions and while Elwood was killed almost immediately, Kamin managed to escape and survive. Based on their GPS collar data, it seems the two males were walking through a relatively thick area of bush and stumbled into the lionesses in the very early morning.

CCF’s team travelled to Erindi to check on Kamin and to assess and treat his injuries. Kamin was covered in puncture wounds from bites, consistent with the initial assessment of the event. Many of the wounds were very infected, but luckily all of his vital organs were fully intact and there was no sign of any broken bones. He was treated by CCF’s veterinarian and then the team moved him into a holding boma for recovery. With the severity of his injuries, Kamin would not have been able to run away from any other dangerous predator and therefore recovery in the boma was a much safer and secure option for him.

After about a month and a half in the boma, Kamin has made an incredible and complete recovery and in early November was released from his holding boma. The following week, he was darted again by CCF’s team to change a collar and the only remaining sign of his injuries from the lion attack was some slight scarring. In the afternoon of this collar change procedure, Kamin made a successful kill on his own. Despite the loss of his last remaining coalition mate, we have very high hopes for Kamin’s success on his own in Erindi.

Miers

From the middle of 2019, Miers began to struggle to hunt and started to once again require supplemental feeding from Erindi’s monitoring team. We began to keep a closer eye on Miers and noticed that he would go up in down in regard to his hunting success. Somedays he would be found doing well and others not so well. At one point, Miers was found with some superficial puncture wounds making it appear as if he had been in a fight with another predator. After this point, Miers again began to improve in his hunting attempts and seemed to be on the mend.

However, in early November he was found in a very bad state and had many more fresh wounds. Based on his GPS collar data and from animal sightings within the reserve, it seems that Miers had been fighting with a coalition of two male cheetahs over the area in Erindi known as Vlei. Though Miers is a very large and impressive male cheetah, in this case he clearly did not fair well on his own against this other male coalition.

Following this attack, CCF’s team darted Miers so that the veterinarian could treat his wounds. Upon closer examination, his wounds are consistent with our assumption that he was fighting other males. Additionally, the veterinarian found that he had broken his back-right foot at some point, but that it had now healed fully. This broken foot is likely the reason behind his starting to struggle to hunt successfully earlier in the year.

After his treatment, Mier’s was also moved to a holding boma to ensure he’s fully recovered before being released again. Despite his injuries, we believe that he will make a full recovery and are planning to release him towards the end of the year.

Daenerys, Georgia, and Tatjana

Daenerys is still living solo in the south western part of Erindi. She still requires supplemental feeding from time to time, but the frequency of these feedings has started to decline, indicating that she is starting to hunt successfully on her own. Daenerys has become comfortable in this area of the reserve and doesn’t often venture far from her newly established home-range. While she’s had a slow start, we believe that she’s well on her way to complete independence within Erindi.

Georgia and Tatjana are still living together in the northern area of the reserve and have become favorites amongst Erindi staff. Often referred to by Erindi staff as ‘G&T’, the females seem to be very happy living together in this female coalition, even though female coalitions do not occur normally in the wild. Similar to Daenerys, Georgia and Tatjana have required less frequent supplemental feeding and we also have high hopes for them reaching independence within Erindi.

Savanna

Savanna and her two surviving male cubs are still performing exceptionally well with Erindi. This family has never required assistance from humans, and the two male cubs are fast approaching the time when they will leave their mother and venture out on their own within Erindi.

In the wild, male cheetahs will form a coalition with their brother(s). By remaining together for life, male cheetahs improve their chances of survival because it’s always better to have more sets of eyes and ears watching out for danger when living in an area with other dangerous predators in abundance. Additionally, males will collaborate on hunts thereby maximizing their chances of making a successful kill.

Though cheetahs are never safe from the dangers of a wildlife, we have extremely high hopes for these two males and are very much looking forward to seeing how they do once they leave their mother.

Laurie Marker has been touring the United States on her CCF Fall Tour since September and is soon headed back to Somaliland to guide our efforts in fighting the illegal pet trade in cheetahs. Hopefully you saw our exclusive feature on CNN that was also shown on PBS Amanpour & Company on August 16th. Laurie is glad to have the resources and support of conservation NGOs, zoos, and veterinary volunteers who have stepped forward with donated funds, supplies and their time to assist the crisis caused by this illegal wildlife trade in cheetah cub. 

As a conservation scientist and cheetah researcher in Africa, Laurie has witnessed how human action threatens the cheetah. She has also had revelations throughout her 45-year career that change the way she looks at threats to the species. These revelations inspire evolutions of thought and help her decide the best possible strategies to counter. Because of what she has learned in the Horn of Africa this past year, she has a new perspective on the problem of illegal wildlife trade. 

First, the cheetah trafficking threat in the Horn of Africa has reached crisis status. Each year, an estimated 300 cubs are illegally snatched from the landscape, taken from their mothers in Ethiopia, northern Kenya, Somalia and Somaliland, the semi-autonomous, northern region of Somalia, to supply the illegal pet trade. The demand for cubs comes mainly from the wealthier classes. In countries on the Arabian Peninsula, just a short trip across the Gulf of Aden, pet cheetahs are status symbols to display the wealth – like luxury cars.

Second, the reproducing adult cheetah population in these same areas of Africa is estimated at less than 500. Already fragmented and vulnerable, these tiny populations are at risk of being lost due to the illegal wildlife trade in the next few years. The number of cubs being poached is simply not sustainable.

In 2005, Laurie first became aware of the illegal pet trade, informed about a pair of cheetah cubs being held in a rural village in Ethiopia. They were tied to a fence, and villagers were throwing rocks at them. CCF helped arrange for their confiscation, working closely with the Ethiopian wildlife department, and found placement. For the next six years, we monitored reports of activity related to the trade and worked with governments in the Horn of Africa on this issue. This led to a relationship with several of these countries, including the government of Somaliland.

Because of its geographical location, Somaliland is the preferred entry point for traffickers into the Arabian Peninsula. Although not officially recognized as a country, Somaliland has its own democratically elected government, its own currency, and has operated as an independent nation for 28 years. As such, Somaliland is one of the safest, most stable places in the Horn of Africa. It also has the most progressively-minded government.

In 2011, CCF began working with the Ministry of Environment and Rural Development (MoERD) of the Republic of Somaliland, managing the disposition of cheetahs recovered by their Wildlife Officers. For the next five years, CCF arranged for confiscated cats to go to sanctuaries in Ethiopia or Djibouti. But in 2016, Somaliland law changed, and the government required all animals to remain within its borders. Around this time, CCF began training MoERD Wildlife Officers in cheetah handling, and together, we created a facility to manage confiscated cheetah cubs in Hargeisa, the capital city. Currently, CCF has 30 cheetah cubs in its care in two facilities.

Since September 2018, Laurie has made several trips back to Somaliland. What she has seen reminds her much of Namibia, 30 years ago, when she first set up CCF. When she arrived, Namibia was shedding its identity as South West Africa, emerging from the shadows of South African apartheid and struggling for recognition as an independent nation. The landscape was scarred from civil war, encroached by thorn bush from overgrazing by livestock and years of drought. Cheetah populations were on the decline. Namibian farmers were shooting cheetahs as a real and perceived threat to their livestock. But miraculously, the new Namibian government recognized the value in protecting its natural resources and made conservation a constitutional mandate. Because of this, and because of the work of CCF, and because of supporters like yourself, the Namibian cheetah population has stabilized. People come from all over the world to visit Namibia, the “Cheetah Capital of the World.” With the positive attitude of the Somaliland government, and the determination of CCF and our loyal supporters, CCF believes we can successfully replicate this model and protect the cheetahs in the Horn of Africa.

A century ago, Somaliland was covered in lush greenery and full of wild species. But today, the landscape is brown and barren. Climate change, poor landscape management and civil war have resulted in a long drought and famine that has impacted people, livestock and wildlife. One of the early revelations Laurie had in her career was the realization that to help wildlife, you must first help the people who live alongside animals. In Somaliland, rural pastoralists and agriculturalists make up about 25% of the population. CCF’s programs are so important because we work with entire landscapes and the communities living alongside predators. It is not just the cheetahs who desperately need our help, but the people, too!

The final revelation: Future Farmers of Africa and Future Conservationists of Africa are the two CCF programs that will be adapted and scaled to be of great benefit in Somaliland and other parts of East Africa. Just like in Namibia, solving the cheetah conservation crisis involves addressing a complex web of social, economic and environmental issues. Bringing back balance to the landscape, encouraging coexistence among rural livestock farming communities, developing livelihoods and educating the next generation of leaders is how we will help Somaliland. It is how we will help cheetahs in the Horn of Africa rebound and stabilize.

If CCF does not address the illegal pet trade, who will? Please help us stop the illegal pet trade before cheetah populations in the Horn of Africa are lost.

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