Cheetah Outreach

• Review
• Monday, May 05, 2008

The fastest land animal on the planet is the Cheetah with a slender body and long legs this feline can get up to speeds of 110km/h in a matter of seconds. It has a flexible spine, enlarged heart,oversized liver, increased lung capacity and a well designed muscular body making the cheetah an amazing hunter.

We visited the Cheetah Outreach on the Spier Wine Estate and learned that Cheetahs are the most endangered large cat on earth with some reports saying wild cheetahs could be extinct within 20 years!!!. Cheetahs thrive in vast areas where prey is in abundance but have a poor life expectancy of 8 to 12 years in captivity due to their lack of genetic diversity.

The Cheetah Outreach project was established in January 1997 to educate and conserve these splendid animals. They work in conjunction with farms in Namibia (90% of the worlds cheetahs inhabit Namibia) and have had a great success to date in breeding and getting livestock farmers to accept Turkish Anatolian Sheep Dogs which are very beneficial for farmers in the protection of their livestock from cheetahs and therefore reducing the level of conflict between farmer and the cheetah.

When visiting Cheetah Outreach project you have the choice of viewing from beyond the fence and visiting an extensive information centre. Alternatively you can get up close and personal with one of these amazing cats. On the day we visited we were able to interact with a set of cubs that were bred in captivity. Before we entered the enclosure we were briefed by one of the expert cheetah handlers on acceptable behaviour when with the cheetahs. We had to remove any dangling jewellery and tie up any loose hair also removing are glasses as the reflection agitates them. The pre education before going into the pen with the cheetah was very good with an emphasis on safety not only for the visitor but also the welfare of the cheetah.

The Cheetah Outreach's slogan is ''see it, sense it & save it'' and in doing this through the education work at Spier, Cheetah Outreach believes it will assist in spreading the word and ultimately saving the Cheetahs for future generations-lets hope so!!!!