tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-90381538809828375102024-03-12T20:58:30.873-07:00Carnivore Conservation Research UpdateNaankusehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14789234230703037380noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9038153880982837510.post-57934505167681885642012-06-21T09:18:00.003-07:002012-06-22T03:15:40.062-07:00<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Rescue and release of a Brown Hyena</span></b><br />
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On 25<span style="font-size: small;"><sup>th</sup> January a
group of volunteers and our head researcher Flo Weise collected a brown
hyena from a farm in Otjompaue. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A
few calves had been bitten and a few killed on the farm. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Having noticed hyena tracks around, the
farmer set up a trap.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He caught it
successfully but didn’t want to kill it, so gave us a call. </span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The hyena was female and old (between 7-9 years old).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She was immobilised so that we could attach a
collar (sponsored by </span><a href="http://www.chesterzoo.org/"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Chester Zoo</span></span></a><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> in the UK) and give her a thorough
examination before release. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We regularly check her movements through the
GPS collar to make sure she is not causing any conflict on commercial farmland.</span></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: AR-SA; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><strong>The Release of Tyson, the leopard</strong></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: AR-SA; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="color: #999999;">Tyson was trapped <span style="background: white;">on a private cattle ranch near N/a’an ku sê.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In 2011<span class="textexposedshow"> the
farmer discovered a calf who he suspected had been killed by the leopard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He therefore decided to trap it, using the
remains of the calf as bait.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Within 24
hours the leopard was captured. No further cases of livestock predation have
occurred on the cattle ranch since. Furthermore, footprint assessments at the
kill and capture sites indicated that the responsible leopard had been trapped.
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As part of their partnership with the </span></span></span></span><span style="line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: AR-SA;"><a href="http://bit.ly/KSTnqz"><span style="background: white; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="color: navy;">N/a’an ku sê Carnivore
Conservation research</span></span></a></span><span class="textexposedshow"><span style="background: white; color: #333333; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: AR-SA; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> </span><span style="background: white; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: AR-SA; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="color: #999999;">program, the owners
agreed to refrain from trapping five other leopards known to be on the
property, including an adult female with two cubs</span>.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-SpE_skRYRNDUYiRRBLUKyu216MXYlZVBxPpDfldVlcW2nn32c_lDU3dP62ZmpaePKIGbxSNV3fhZdKvQjUObdVwMeK7WpcUQO24uJjrU7f1xDel4PhHywR2BYMYUftdwUcv-vUGnm94M/s1600/IMG_6278.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-SpE_skRYRNDUYiRRBLUKyu216MXYlZVBxPpDfldVlcW2nn32c_lDU3dP62ZmpaePKIGbxSNV3fhZdKvQjUObdVwMeK7WpcUQO24uJjrU7f1xDel4PhHywR2BYMYUftdwUcv-vUGnm94M/s320/IMG_6278.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span class="textexposedshow"><span style="background: white; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: AR-SA; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="textexposedshow"><span style="background: white; color: #999999; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: AR-SA; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Tyson was re-released with
a GPS collar (sponsored by </span></span><span style="line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: AR-SA;"><a href="http://www.chesterzoo.org/"><span style="background: white; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="color: navy;">Chester Zoo, UK</span></span></a></span><span class="textexposedshow"><span style="background: white; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: AR-SA; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">)<span style="color: #999999;"> and we are downloading regular updates on his movements to ensure he
is not causing any conflict on commercial farmland.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>National Geographic have published an article
on Tyson’s release:</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: AR-SA;"><a href="http://bit.ly/MsHdFd"><span style="color: navy;">Leopard given GPS
collar after capture on Namibian cattle ranch</span></a></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Kirsty
and her cheetah cubs are released</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span class="textexposedshow"><span style="background: white; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: AR-SA; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: AR-SA;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span><span style="background: white; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #999999;">We are delighted
to announce that on Tuesday 24</span><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-size: small;"><sup>th</sup> March Kirsty and her three
cubs </span></span></span><a href="http://on.fb.me/MeOZ5e" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">were released back into the wild</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">, <span style="color: #999999;">where they belong! They came to us
in December as a farmer asked us to translocate them because they were
preying on the springbok on his game farm near
</span></span></span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otjiwarongo"><span style="background: white; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="color: navy; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Otjiwarongo</span></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background: white; color: #333333; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">. </span><span style="background: white; color: #999999; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Kirsty, the
mother, is around 5-6 years old, very large (45kg) and healthy. When she
arrived her cubs were only 9-12 months old. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When cheetahs are relocated they will
spend time scoping out there new surroundings and travel more in a day
than they do once they are settled.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Due to the size of the cubs we thought it would be best to put them
in a temporary holding camp for 3 months until the cheetah cubs were
strong enough to move with Kirsty on her explorations. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We ensured there was minimum human
contact to assist their success upon release. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Kirsty has been fitted with a GPS
tracking collar (sponsored by </span></span><a href="http://www.sirtrack.com/"><span style="background: white; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="color: navy; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sirtrack</span></span></a><span style="background: white; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">) <span style="color: #999999;">and we can
already see that she is doing very well in her new habitat.</span><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO1FAxP-Sdp4Pj0E-pL0ZyyO65ZHAyfuLSrctQo7WL4a5zNjneTmxYducI9tNVv07OFUObXpBlOfEL7wfAk0E-VDTXc6ON7rv52y44m5SC1EW-UOk2Fgt9RlFRmlYnSCOSHdDtodhufJ6u/s1600/IMG_6609.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO1FAxP-Sdp4Pj0E-pL0ZyyO65ZHAyfuLSrctQo7WL4a5zNjneTmxYducI9tNVv07OFUObXpBlOfEL7wfAk0E-VDTXc6ON7rv52y44m5SC1EW-UOk2Fgt9RlFRmlYnSCOSHdDtodhufJ6u/s320/IMG_6609.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span class="textexposedshow"><span style="background: white; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: AR-SA; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: AR-SA;"><span style="background: white; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; mso-spacerun: yes;"><strong>Sandy the cheetah</strong></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span class="textexposedshow"><span style="background: white; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: AR-SA; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: AR-SA;"><span style="background: white; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #999999; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Sandy along with her sister Rusty and
Mother Laura arrived at N/a'an ku se in early 2010 after being trapped by a
farmer for hunting on his game farm. They spent the next year and a half at
N/a'an ku sê's wildlife sanctuary. With the two cubs now two years old the
family made the move to the </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://bit.ly/L3Iq3v"><span style="line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="color: navy;">Namib Carnivore Conservation Centre</span></span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="color: #999999;">
(NCCC) in December 2011 with a view to a possible release back to the wild.
During her first two months in the NCCC's 500 hectare soft release enclosure
Sandy enjoyed exploring her new home and along with her mother and sister
hunted a couple of Jackals that had made the mistake of entering the enclosure.</span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjihDdTb6QNTvhmmSh6PRpesr_1472ArXb9uARbbnTwuD5071T153Lq4jNtaAp4pIRLDlcXBQINLpX6NpHAxwwdFsp3HaKSY-YDdEYAosZQUKRYKtROJZFsgquJ4Bn35IGoeGh9kh4Y6zz/s1600/DSC06245.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjihDdTb6QNTvhmmSh6PRpesr_1472ArXb9uARbbnTwuD5071T153Lq4jNtaAp4pIRLDlcXBQINLpX6NpHAxwwdFsp3HaKSY-YDdEYAosZQUKRYKtROJZFsgquJ4Bn35IGoeGh9kh4Y6zz/s320/DSC06245.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In early April 2012 Sandy started to
not eat any food given to her; after a week of not eating a full meal Sandy
became lethargic and her condition quickly deteriorated. NCCC staff and
volunteers then made a huge all day effort in the pouring rain to place Sandy
in a transport cage. Sandy was then immediately taken to Windhoek to receive
intensive veterinary treatment. Ultrasound scans and blood and faecal tests all
could not diagnose the problem.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was a
complete mystery as to why Sandy was ill. Food was pumped into Sandy's stomach
and we all hoped for her condition to improve. However, heartbreakingly, Sandy
died the following morning. A necropsy was carried out where the cause
of death was found to be a fibrotic band around her duodenum, the cause was
unknown and there was no indication of trauma of infection. Sadly this was one
of those rare occurrences where nothing could have been done to prevent the
outcome. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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</span><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="color: #999999;">Loosing this be</span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/" name="_GoBack"></a><span style="color: #999999;">autiful
young cat was devastating for all of us here at N/a'n ku se especially after
all the effort that was made to treat her. However we shall remember her fondly
and continue our work to ensure more cats including Sandy's mother and sister
have the chance to stay in the wild where they belong.</span> </span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Three Cheetah cubs arrive at N/a’an ku sê </span></b></o:p></span></div>
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hours away from N/a'an ku se. they had been captured without their mother and
were too small to be re-released straight away.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have released them into one of our
enclosures and are hoping not to interact with them too much in order to give
them the best possible chance of release when they are old enough.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Ku sê the Vulture needs your help!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></b></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #999999; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">He is a Lappet-faced Vulture who was bought to N/a’an ku sê in October
2011 at only a few months old.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He had
fallen out of his nest and his mother was nowhere to be found.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We transferred Ku sê to the </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://www.restafrica.org/"><span style="line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="color: navy;">Rare and
Endangered Species Trust</span></span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> <span style="color: #999999;">who have been rehabilitating him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Now he is ready for release and we need to track him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span><span lang="EN" style="color: #999999; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Unfortunately we have just received sad news that poor Ku sê was recently
attacked by wild baboons whilst in his cage at the REST Sanctuary where he is
based. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When found, he was rushed to the
vets and operated on, where he lost a lot of blood and lost a toe from each foot.
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is back at REST recovering and being
looked after well. His release has been delayed by at least 3 months, but we
still need your donations to track Ku sê!</span></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAAtsaGCdAk-7zxlFzZ3vghz1W4g6GW-TGpCfLmI8h2S6DZz8acQCrYkzQE46SVVSRvUqBxJ6P0g5_fEXUXFOQDC3BDYdrIg47yNxhdwepLKPhR0rWIBrSOT3b_6ObnzgbwrWoEEh9Cx6U/s1600/IMG_3515.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAAtsaGCdAk-7zxlFzZ3vghz1W4g6GW-TGpCfLmI8h2S6DZz8acQCrYkzQE46SVVSRvUqBxJ6P0g5_fEXUXFOQDC3BDYdrIg47yNxhdwepLKPhR0rWIBrSOT3b_6ObnzgbwrWoEEh9Cx6U/s320/IMG_3515.JPG" width="213" /></span></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #999999;"><span lang="EN" style="line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">He </span><span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>will be the
first partially hand-reared Lappet-faced vulture to be released and tracked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have secured funds for his release and
tracking device, but downloading the information from his tracking device will
cost another $2000USD ($16,800NAD).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Can
you help?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To donate please click </span></span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://bit.ly/KGmr99"><span style="line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="color: navy;">here</span></span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></b></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div>Naankusehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14789234230703037380noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9038153880982837510.post-14046425128574530472012-03-29T07:48:00.000-07:002012-03-29T07:48:19.493-07:00At the end of October we did our 40th release of a collared carnivore. A cheetah, Boris, who had spent the last months in our soft-release boma in Solitaire, was released back into the wild.<br />
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Watch this video for the whole story:<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dy2c4vUs_Jx2x5dpvTNW0HTAhr5ED5NImuDehloYascOs6LBfwDICgHu8zquVC_YpmdN9OGllpeCGncV30KeQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br />Naankusehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14789234230703037380noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9038153880982837510.post-80665036005717886672012-01-16T02:48:00.000-08:002012-03-29T07:47:38.314-07:00Camera trap photos<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKG5pq8pmyi3A-Lxg5jc4LYbChZN5dIVdSVnAB82cQvg8UbxejUx7G3sCu9b6E1MOgnEwpzRLByndvaJ919hXcWVMtc2O_UwLQ9kbFoHbJxpd3RlKL7ahlrKuV9_zFPUc1El0DzETMnU2g/s1600/305163_10150416666319771_51835689770_8207888_481656226_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKG5pq8pmyi3A-Lxg5jc4LYbChZN5dIVdSVnAB82cQvg8UbxejUx7G3sCu9b6E1MOgnEwpzRLByndvaJ919hXcWVMtc2O_UwLQ9kbFoHbJxpd3RlKL7ahlrKuV9_zFPUc1El0DzETMnU2g/s320/305163_10150416666319771_51835689770_8207888_481656226_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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This zebra doesn't know that there is a predator under that rock it is approaching...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy1MuFB2cW1_Qm5K5OAgkDd8CBdbQAyZONDqihFY5XhsvCUa0uiR0WLlSvQvRaAxdjjURphlYuhNgdYLhIUa4es9MKR_vmcQhY0sOpsQDb58EbKK4rZue1Ddi60KObqhKbs6SPOnjb3hxF/s1600/388539_10150416666479771_51835689770_8207890_1336302918_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy1MuFB2cW1_Qm5K5OAgkDd8CBdbQAyZONDqihFY5XhsvCUa0uiR0WLlSvQvRaAxdjjURphlYuhNgdYLhIUa4es9MKR_vmcQhY0sOpsQDb58EbKK4rZue1Ddi60KObqhKbs6SPOnjb3hxF/s320/388539_10150416666479771_51835689770_8207890_1336302918_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Seems like the leopard was resting under the rock, and is more surprised than the zebra...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf-iN-8DJmu7pgg77ee1-0CpRbaE3SvngFX9lBUTWhVqMbGFd2qWsjHQN6I9juxgpYj1eSWpft5Lu-7RvJ67PkQ8cClkpgUOsHG7TZDlxN9sCTCzvRKSJjvH0ktgmm_0oo4u_MpdmCk1Wv/s1600/315951_10150416666634771_51835689770_8207891_610035206_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="315" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf-iN-8DJmu7pgg77ee1-0CpRbaE3SvngFX9lBUTWhVqMbGFd2qWsjHQN6I9juxgpYj1eSWpft5Lu-7RvJ67PkQ8cClkpgUOsHG7TZDlxN9sCTCzvRKSJjvH0ktgmm_0oo4u_MpdmCk1Wv/s320/315951_10150416666634771_51835689770_8207891_610035206_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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On this close-up it is perfectly visible how our courageous zebra challenges its predator...</div>
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... and even dares to run after the leopard, chasing it away!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh33usjZB4hqlWuRSU9rlUKQkl9oBvDJ3NwISfO16BG_LWja6wIxSrs7KYw94-Ht3h6x8Fzi4G4BYeST92HeY5dcj__u1p2Ep8ssAPBAX_EZIEx72GPskV2uT_XqBaCkv1T27aFhO6b9cF/s1600/391049_10150416666749771_51835689770_8207893_1802560142_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh33usjZB4hqlWuRSU9rlUKQkl9oBvDJ3NwISfO16BG_LWja6wIxSrs7KYw94-Ht3h6x8Fzi4G4BYeST92HeY5dcj__u1p2Ep8ssAPBAX_EZIEx72GPskV2uT_XqBaCkv1T27aFhO6b9cF/s320/391049_10150416666749771_51835689770_8207893_1802560142_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Time to smile! Here are the first camera trap pictures of our male leopard Derek who was released on Sandfontein in late June:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4ene-GsuEu4qK1p48nRKcYOfpw_halyCpZiUm1nrUH9eKHbhB0pd8QAWeVVw4byuRetDSJXo-iuEMfOvcmduiZDpYIwCWfiHBwqbNTyb4wBW46G75T_JjdFpfPfFwWoJariqY6Nqihygq/s1600/375347_10150431590709771_51835689770_8252398_1858995726_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4ene-GsuEu4qK1p48nRKcYOfpw_halyCpZiUm1nrUH9eKHbhB0pd8QAWeVVw4byuRetDSJXo-iuEMfOvcmduiZDpYIwCWfiHBwqbNTyb4wBW46G75T_JjdFpfPfFwWoJariqY6Nqihygq/s320/375347_10150431590709771_51835689770_8252398_1858995726_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Sandfontein is a Private Nature and Game Reserve located on South African border along the Orange River. The managers Willie and Rodica Agenbach work in partnership with Naankuse conducting predator rehabilitation and monitoring of carnivores. As part of the monitoring, they recently obtained first images of Derek, who was released in June with a GPS collar. He appears to be in excellent physical condition.</div>
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THANK YOU to Willie and Rodica for making sure that Derek is well and for providing these images!!!</div>
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<br />Naankusehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14789234230703037380noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9038153880982837510.post-35747190259185213692012-01-16T02:36:00.000-08:002012-03-29T07:48:53.897-07:00Serval release<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
In October we received a very special animal: A serval cat was accidentally captured on a hunting property near Windhoek as part of jackal control operations. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0mV2OsMztDC86CVS7o9IeLisfKPE_NTFdy8LQzM_eQj0fjybvC_lkuGxQLgdQYbS88Rw-3WlQx9cqquGmerc5_XXwprprLByPlByzIhU1YAfrqDx8sTUsNzSlNaHhWkSht7wcUDsq1EXA/s1600/100_0209.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0mV2OsMztDC86CVS7o9IeLisfKPE_NTFdy8LQzM_eQj0fjybvC_lkuGxQLgdQYbS88Rw-3WlQx9cqquGmerc5_XXwprprLByPlByzIhU1YAfrqDx8sTUsNzSlNaHhWkSht7wcUDsq1EXA/s320/100_0209.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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The hunters called Naankuse and Rudie and Marlice darted and retrieved the animal from the gin trap it was captured in. They undertook emergency care of the injury on site, and Marlice then took the animal to Ian Baines, our vet at the veterinary clinic in Windhoek for more intensive treatment. The vet discovered that it had a broken ulna bone in its front leg. Nothing can be done in these cases and the bone will just heal by itself. The wound was sutured and antibiotics were given. Besides this injury, the animal appeared to be in excellent condition. It is a sub-adult but nearly fully grown of approximately 2-3 years of age and its teeth were in very good condition. </div>
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As this was the case, it was decided to re-release it the next day. As it ran off into its freedom, we could see how the animal was already putting its full weight on the leg only one day after the capture and moved on it unrestrained.</div>
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<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wksxJJ7daI&list=UUlRL0Rhx441IK6iPSOTQg0w&index=7&feature=plcp" target="_blank">Click here</a> to watch the video footage of the release.</div>
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<br />Naankusehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14789234230703037380noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9038153880982837510.post-73309716044758777462012-01-16T02:20:00.000-08:002012-03-29T07:49:03.081-07:00Leopard with no tail<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">In October also we received a female leopard with no
tail. Head researcher Florian and volunteer Martin drove over 800km round trip on
one day to collect the leopard. She was c</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">aptured
on a farm near Otavi, where farmers had lost a calf and it as bait in the trap
to capture the problem leopard. This f</span><span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">armer is generally predator friendly and does
not randomly remove animals, they are aware of at least 4-5 leopards
continually on their farm and never experienced any problems with them prior to
this calf predation incident. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">She is a y</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">oung
female, of approximately two years of age, and she went into the cage that same
night. Unfortunately and because of her fierce character, when she came to us
she already had a number of injuries, including a cut-off tail, severe
abrasions on her face and general dehydration.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFBStWs90Kjnc1h6o0iVNwfC1FCv6j-FVhbmYjd0LpYCR0m_al4jwp4KMjqy6VI2tV1Xlz8Is5cXhj6KKyc8Fd4aAkAcjtu6er-4Zgj4PaP532izgA6LRI75DEdRz0Qk5We5Ql21M8RzNk/s1600/IMG_3842.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFBStWs90Kjnc1h6o0iVNwfC1FCv6j-FVhbmYjd0LpYCR0m_al4jwp4KMjqy6VI2tV1Xlz8Is5cXhj6KKyc8Fd4aAkAcjtu6er-4Zgj4PaP532izgA6LRI75DEdRz0Qk5We5Ql21M8RzNk/s320/IMG_3842.JPG" width="213" /></a><br />
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After consulting with our vet Ian Baines, Rudie proceeded to darting and sedating her, we performed a complete health check on the animal and began to treat her wounds. She only weighed 20 kg when she arrived, a sign of severe dehydration, so she was put on a drip.</div>
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Flo and Rudie then treated the injuries on her face, as well as the tail injury. We suspect that the door of the capture cage must have cut off her tail when she first went into the cage. </div>
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Once the injuries were treated, her general health condition was good enough to release her and give her the best chances of survival in the wild. The animal was already quite stressed, so we proceeded to release her that same day back into the wild.</div>
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As it is a leopard, we only gave her the antidote when she was out in the wild and we drove off before she could wake up for safety reasons. </div>
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Several weeks later, we still find her tracks, a sign for her being well and alive.</div>
<br />Naankusehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14789234230703037380noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9038153880982837510.post-83509784038595201912011-10-25T06:20:00.000-07:002011-10-30T01:04:19.241-07:00Wild Dog Conservation Initiative<br />
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<span lang="EN-US">The
African Wild Dog (Lycaon pictus) is one of the continent’s most threatened
large predators and Namibia’s free-ranging population is consistently estimated
at a critically low level of between approximately 200 and 600 animals</span><span lang="EN-US"> in less than 50 breeding units
which mostly occur outside of formally protected areas (R. Lines, personal
communication; Stander 2003; Woodroffe et al 2004)</span><span lang="EN-US">. The present surviving population of wild dogs
is severely fragmented and is highly unlikely to re-colonise areas that they
used to inhabit by natural migration. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">With these alarming figures, the importance of the
captive population may become more paramount as a genetic reservoir, for
research, and for reintroductions of the species. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><u><span style="color: #783f04; font-size: large;"><b>The Status of Wild Dog Conservation in Namibia </b></span></u></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXk9cyJ56_QC5iWs6tzG2Fe72pdvX-lsVWXLR3AO6hTLBhGDJ9G19tyw7LP6aNLl2Kn0sCFrXX6Utk8RmRqW48ihDUZsMFkaxnbS3jBql6T-FdPpN9OGeC0XziBIvNYMUplxq27Uj_Pi0f/s1600/310507_10150374205891131_684541130_10361242_447296233_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="171" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXk9cyJ56_QC5iWs6tzG2Fe72pdvX-lsVWXLR3AO6hTLBhGDJ9G19tyw7LP6aNLl2Kn0sCFrXX6Utk8RmRqW48ihDUZsMFkaxnbS3jBql6T-FdPpN9OGeC0XziBIvNYMUplxq27Uj_Pi0f/s320/310507_10150374205891131_684541130_10361242_447296233_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The Namibian Nature Foundation, one of
N/a'an ku sê's partners, funded the only wild dog conservation project in
Namibia for ten years looking at key issues of population estimates, range, and
human-wild dog conflict situations. Due to their involvement in wild dog
conservation, they have also been involved in the IUCN/SSP National Action
Plan. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNun5I0_r_lriDxlYlFMnNUUGy0ExvnhsGTUAdBz1vqnVSV8jeQz1pqUj90KkqCoR0jSf1AAENIaE15NYF42_Y0lRU285KdmUY9FO5R44xsgMkXbMZPb5ZTRoh0OmQT8u0YC85rVrmbCqX/s1600/IMG_3847.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNun5I0_r_lriDxlYlFMnNUUGy0ExvnhsGTUAdBz1vqnVSV8jeQz1pqUj90KkqCoR0jSf1AAENIaE15NYF42_Y0lRU285KdmUY9FO5R44xsgMkXbMZPb5ZTRoh0OmQT8u0YC85rVrmbCqX/s320/IMG_3847.JPG" width="212" /></a><span lang="EN-US">The head researcher for the Wild
Dog Project has since left Namibia,
leaving the future of wild dog conservation in the hands of N/a'an ku sê and
its conservation partners, including Namibian Nature Foundation as well as the
Ministry of Environment and Tourism.
N/a'an ku sê and its partners, intend on utilizing the information
generated from this project to form the baseline of future conservation efforts
for the free-ranging population.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Together with Namibia’s Ministry of Environment
and Tourism, N/a’an ku se have successfully rehabilitated and re-introduced
cheetahs, leopards and brown hyenas into different conservation areas in Namibia, over
the past three years. Since 2008 we have safely re-released over 50 large
predators - none of the reintroductions have led to any human-wildlife conflict
and an intensive post-release monitoring scheme has been successfully
implemented allowing us to gather vital data for future conservation of these
species.</span></div>
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Building on this extensive experience and that of the
capture and captive management of wild dogs, N/a’an ku sê is supporting this
critically endangered predator in Namibia. We have brought together Namibia’s partners
that hold wild dogs, together with the support of the MET, to work jointly
towards a standardized approach for reintroduction of wild dogs currently cared
for by facilities.</div>
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<u><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 120%;">International Wild Dog
Management Workshop – October 2011</span></b></span></u></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Conflict with
landowners and a host of diseases are the main reasons for the decline of wild
dogs in Namibia
coupled with a lack of knowledge, experience, and action. N/a’an ku se, along with its fellow
stakeholders and the MET, acknowledged that we cannot move forward in wild dog
conservation without guidance from experts.</span><span lang="EN-US"> </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">On 5<sup>th</sup>
and 6<sup>th</sup> October, N/a’an ku sê hosted an International Workshop
attended by wild dog experts Drs. Harriet Davies-Mostert (Endangered Wildlife
Trust, South Africa), Weldon McNutt (Botswana Predator Conservation Trust),
Gianetta Purchase (Zoological Society of London / Wildlife Conservation
Society) as well as </span><span lang="EN-US">Dr Ortwin Aschenborn</span><span lang="EN-US"> from the MET and representatives
from Namibia Nature Foundation, Wilderness Safaris, AfriCat, Erindi and
NamibRand Nature Reserve. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Together they </span><span lang="EN-US">evaluated approaches and strategies specifically for captive held
wild dogs in Namibia
but also for the free-ranging animals. The workshop made it possible for those
organizations that have had prior experience managing wild dogs to give an
overview of the results of their activities which were openly discussed and
compared with wild dog management actions in other countries, in order to
assess the viability of continuing with these activities and improve on them.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The
first steps to creating an effective management plan were taken during the
workshop, with a full management/research manuscript now being drafted, based on the definitions and
strategic steps agreed upon by the participants. This report and its
recommendations will be submitted to the Ministry of Environment and Tourism
for review. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">One of the
important decisions taken is that in order to successfully secure the future of
wild dogs in Namibia, the focus and efforts of those entities and organizations
dedicated to this cause should be predominantly on the free ranging wild dogs
(studying their numbers, distribution and potential and actual conflict with
landowners) and manage the few wild dogs currently cared for by humans for best
chance of reintroduction. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Public attitude continues to discriminate
against wild dogs (Gusset et al 2008).
Before re-introducing wild dogs into the free-ranging population,
outside protected reserves, considerable outreach and education must be
implemented to ensure their safety outside protected reserves. This outreach/research/education can be
supported by eco-tourism reserves and facilities holding wild dogs, as well as
keeping viable captive stock available. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Through our work we seek to change the
attitudes of local landowners towards these animals and help reduce
human-wildlife conflict in the process. Already we have achieved significant
progress with the farmer on whose land N/a’an ku sê’s pups lived previously.
Recently, he discovered more pups in the same area but has agreed to tolerate
them on his land and keep them alive. This is not only positive news for the
population in the area, but a major step forward in terms of reducing
human-wildlife conflict in the area and protecting the wild dog species in
their natural habitat.</span></div>
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<br /></div>Naankusehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14789234230703037380noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9038153880982837510.post-20151957025546421862011-07-11T01:55:00.000-07:002011-10-25T05:49:43.673-07:00The Release of a Lifetime<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: small;">Saturday 25<sup>th</sup> June saw the beginning of one of the biggest translocation and release programmes ever attempted in Namibia and certainly the biggest release operations at N/a'an ku se. 7 cheetahs and 1 leopard. 2 release sites. Our convoy clocked up a total of 5,268km travelling through 3 regions and 7 districts of the country. All in just 8 days. N/a’an ku sê has never embarked on a challenge to relocate so many big cats at the same time. But we’re never one to shy away from a challenge..</span><span style="font-size: small;">.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Every moment of the release was filmed by Homebew Films for Animal Planet who covered the event for 2 episodes of our new television series to be aired on Animal Planet across Africa, NBC in Namibia and KykNET across sub-Sahara Africa in March 2012. </span></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Read on for all the details and photos from the whole week</span>: </span></span></b></div>
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<span class="MsoSubtleReference"><b><span style="color: #002060; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Day 1 – Capturing and Collaring the Cats</span></b></span></div>
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Removing 8 cats from their enclosures, carrying out welfare checks, attaching tracking collars and moving them into transit cages, in one day is no mean feat. With a full team of 9 staff and 15 volunteers to co-ordinate this task, N/a’an ku sê Directors Rudie and Marlice set out the plans for the day to ensure there are no slip ups and the welfare of the animals is our top priority. </div>
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We begin with 4 cheetahs to be released into a soft boma in Solitaire. This is a brand new 500 hectare enclosure built especially for these cats to acclimatise to the area for a few months and adjust to living independently before a hard release back into the wild. It is extremely important to carry out a soft release for cats who have lived in captivity for a long period of time to ensure they are fully capable of surviving on their own. </div>
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The 4 cheetahs include 2 young females, 3 years old (previously referred to as Female A and Female B but now called Annie and Bettie!), a strong 9 year old male called Spartacus and a young 3 year old cheetah male called Boris.</div>
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Rudie works with the volunteers to get all the necessary drugs and medicines in place and then darts the animals to put them asleep. Marlice and her team then carry the cats out of their enclosure and asses their physical condition – checking their teeth, feet, eyes, fur – all indicators of their physical strength and nutritional development. Whilst under heavy medication, the volunteers monitor the cats’ heart rate and temperature to ensure they remain stable. </div>
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We have just 45-60 minutes before each cheetah wakes up so the process is like a military operation. Then the big moment of attaching their tracking collar – a symbol that their release shall be carefully monitored to ensure their safety. Head Researcher Flo attaches a VHF collar onto each of the cheetahs<span style="font-size: small;"> <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">– these collars had been generously donated to us by US Conservation Foundation IdeaWild and are used on cats which can be easily located on the ground without requiring the use of GPS telemetry devices.<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">The 4 cheetahs are then shown into their temporary homes for transit to the release site. Annie, Bettie and Spartacus move into a large trailer to be towed by a LandRover Defender 110 whilst Boris is loaded onto the back of a LandRover Defender 130.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Next up – the leopard. Named Derek (!) our very wil</span>d, but young 3 year old leopard was to receive a hard release in Sandfontein, far south of Namibia near the Orange River on the border of South Africa. Capturing and collaring a leopard is a very different scenario as the wild nature of this animal requires an extra level of precautionary measures. Only Rudie and Marlice ventured near the leopard’s enclosure, protected by the doors and windows of a LandRover, with the remaining staff and volunteers a safe distance away so as to not stir the leopard’s interest. This ferocious animal needed a few darts before he was successfully immobilised and then we were finally able to do what we’d always wanted to – attach his release collar!</div>
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Derek received a GPS collar which is the only device that can monitor a leopard’s free-roaming movements across a diverse landscape such as mountain ranges and deep thickets of bush. It is important for carnivores that have been held in captivity to be carefully monitored when they are released back into the wild, to check they are able to hunt properly and are strong enough to protect themselves from predators. Continuous monitoring of re-released cheetahs and leopards also enables us to gather ground-breaking data, gaining a better understanding of their ecology for future conservation. Attaching a GPS satellite collar will enable us to carry out post-release monitoring to establish his home range development, health, hunting and other ecological parameters. It is huge thanks to generous individuals who fundraised or donated money such as Claudio Frateschi and Dan Mortimer who enabled us to buy this collar for Derek.</div>
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Last but not least, and just before nightfall, our 3 remaining cheetahs aka the Chipmunks – Alvin (2 and a half years old), Simon (3 years old) and Theodor, (2 and a half years old) were immobilised, removed from their camp and collared. These 3 have lived together at N/a’an ku sê and so shall be released in their existing coalition into a soft boma in Sandfontein for a month or so for acclimatisation before being released fully. Simon, the older and more “sensible” one of the 3 was attached with GPS Argos collar and the other cheetahs received VHF collars.</div>
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Just before nightfall the task was completed! All 8 cats had been safely removed from their enclosure, collared and moved into their transit vehicles, ready for the big translocation...<br />
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<span class="MsoSubtleReference"><b><span style="color: #002060; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Day 2-3 – Solitaire Soft Release</span></b></span></div>
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And so the 280km journey from N/a’an ku sê to Solitaire begins. The convoy consists of 4 LandRovers, an animal trailer, equipment trailer, 11 N/a’an ku sê staff, 7 volunteers and 5 film crew members, 7 cheetahs and 1 leopard.</div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Volunteer Sandy Kinnon from New Zealand was lucky enough to attend the release and tells us her story: </span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I was very privileged to be one of seven volunteers lucky enough to be part of N/a'an ku se's largest carnivore release to date. The 7 cheetah and 1 leopard had been residing at N/a'an ku se in temporary holding camps for different lengths of time and the staff had been careful to ensure all 8 cats remained as wild</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> as they could to maximise their chances of survival when released. Some of the cats had been brough to N/a'an ku se as young cubs while others, such as Spartacus and Derek, had been removed from farms where they had been hunting livestock. With the exception of Spartacus who was a proven problem animal, all the cats were destined to be re-released back into the wild eventually.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAz9SVB7eBJr-P7x0lRxNRAaB_K-Hntch6sVqYGz2MK_7Ej4x2NQxwY4K5G3hdl7MybMT1PuJD-DL3os_UcTaHD_9qZXq1s98vDp5M0qdKwCKHMu0F5L1W8Cz-A_nkVudNI63oMZH7eX_f/s1600/IMG_0382.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAz9SVB7eBJr-P7x0lRxNRAaB_K-Hntch6sVqYGz2MK_7Ej4x2NQxwY4K5G3hdl7MybMT1PuJD-DL3os_UcTaHD_9qZXq1s98vDp5M0qdKwCKHMu0F5L1W8Cz-A_nkVudNI63oMZH7eX_f/s200/IMG_0382.JPG" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">It was a cold winter's morning when we volunteers along with 7 N/a'an ku se staff packed the 4 LandRovers for the journey - the Chipmunks together on the back of one car, Derek on the back of another, and Spartacus, Annie and Bettie in an animal trailer. Rudie and Marlice were to follow us later that day making the journey by plane. Also travelling with us on the road was a South African film crew whose job it was to film this milestone event for N/a'an ku se's new television series. During the 5 hour drive to Solitaire (the first release site), they filmed shots of our departure from N/a'an ku se, driving on route and our arrival at Solitaire Guest Farm. The scenery approaching and in Solitaire was incredible - pastel hued landscapes contrasted with vivid colbalt skies and striking flame coloured mountains as the sun began its descent.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">After feeding and watering the cats we retired for the night to enjoy the beautiful surroundings and facilities of the guest farm. The soft release site is a brand new venture for N/a’an ku sê as they’ve partnered with Simone and Walter Swarts of <a href="http://www.solitaireguestfarm.com/">Solitaire Guest Farm</a> to host a new research base where two N/a'an ku se biologists, Matt and Kate, shall be stationed to look after the cats and monitor their acclimatisation. Day tourists and volunteers will have the opportunity to reside at the research base and work alongside Matt and Kate as part of the Carnivore Conservation Research Volunteer Programme, managing the daily maintenance of the cheetah enclosure and carrying out research into the home ranges and territories of resident free-ranging large carnivores in the area.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">On Monday 27th June we helped complete construction of the newly built 500 hectare soft release boma by pinning the fence down with rocks. As the boma is so large (5km square) 14 springbok had accidently been fenced in. Whilst the intention is to leave some game in the camp for the cats to practice their hunting skills again, 14 springbok is quite a lot! Despite our attempts to remove them from the enclosure the springbok outsmarted us and so we had to leave them be. </span></div>
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Later that afternoon, staff, film crew, volunteers and guests at Solitaire, all gathered excitedly for the big moment. The first trailer door holding in the 2 female cheetahs (Annie and Bettie) was the first to be opened. Everyone waited with baited breath, ready for them to shoot out, but the cats were hesitant to leave. Suprisingly the girls were very quiet, perhaps a little daunted by their new environment being revealed to them after being enclosed in the trailer for a couple of days. After a while Rudie gently and very tentatively entered inside the trailer and opened the partition between them and Spartacus. Rather than spurring them out, the 3 cheetahs then moved further back inside of the trailer seemingly uninterested in exploring their new home. Eventually, Spartacus got the idea and shot out, running far into the distance, soon followed by the females who stopped around 60 metres away to reunite with one another and observe their surroundings. Next it was Boris’ turn, the other male cheetah, who didn’t hesitate for a second as his cage door was opened and rushed out, keen to stretch his legs.</div>
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Watching the cats venture into their new environment was especially extraordinary in the late afternoon light. We watched them for a while longer, with the sunset providing a glowing background before leaving them to settle in and returning to the guest farm for dinner and drinks to celebrate the first successful release of the journey. </div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span class="MsoSubtleReference"><b><span style="color: #002060; line-height: 115%;">Day 4-5 Sandfontein Hard and Soft Release </span></b></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAoh7tlvX4Rss8PxD6BeLg665e9kW6eaqGKC-5_U2ZVgCNdM7sje036PhPWZDfGF2uZyowXs9bKUwHbf26XWFe01CS5AlXpoHIvkel5UphCntJLMlQVOFfJoVeC_Oequpzl4OPdiEALCoJ/s1600/P1020634.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAoh7tlvX4Rss8PxD6BeLg665e9kW6eaqGKC-5_U2ZVgCNdM7sje036PhPWZDfGF2uZyowXs9bKUwHbf26XWFe01CS5AlXpoHIvkel5UphCntJLMlQVOFfJoVeC_Oequpzl4OPdiEALCoJ/s200/P1020634.JPG" width="200" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">4 cats down, 4 cats to go. The second leg of the trip required a smaller team to manage and so 5 N/a’an ku sê staff and 6 volunteers returned to N/a’an ku sê whilst Flo (Head of Research), Lucy (Fundraising and Marketing Manager) and Tessa (Wildlife Co-ordinator), myself and the film crew, commenced the long drive down to Sandfonteiin at 6am</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">. Rudie and Marlice were to fly later that day while we transport the luggage, equipment and cats. We were now down to 2 LandRovers - one carrying the Chipmunks and the other carrying Derek and the equipment/luggage trailer.</span></span></div>
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4 hours into the 720km drive, Tessa received a phonecall from Marlice asking her to check inside their luggage for one of Rudie's shirts which may or may not have the keys to their plane in the pocket. Unfortunately it did! Swinging the keys in her hand Tessa told Marlice the "good" news, much to everyone's amusement including Marlice's. Luckily we were at Mariental where we were able to leave the keys at a nearby gas station for Rudie to drive and collect (a journey which he managed in 1.5 hours in contrast to our 4 hours towing trailers and cats!).</div>
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The journey continued to throw up a few more suprises throughout the day, just to keep us entertained. While stopping for lunch in Keetmanshoop we discovered one of the wheel bearings on the luggage and equipment trailer had worn out. Not suprising after 14 hours of intense driving on gravel dirt roads across half of Namibia! Miraculously a local garage had the correct parts in stock so our trip was only delayed by a couple of hours. During this time, the cats were doing well to draw attention from every employee and customer of the gas stations we stopped at for refuelling! Protecting these cats is a big responsiblity on a relocation programme of this scale - ensuring they are well fed, watered and not too scared by their ever changing surroundings.</div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">At around 8.30pm we finally arrived at S<a href="http://www.sandfontein.com/">andfontein Nature Game Reserve and Lodge</a>, exhausted from the 14 hour drive from Solitaire. </span>Sandfontein is another new area for N/a’an ku sê as this is their first release on the 80,000 hectare land, edging on the Orange River. The location is home to more than 4,000 animals including leopard, cheetah, kudu, eland, zebra, giraffe, springbok, impala and aardvark. It also provides protection to 5 of the world’s extremely endangered black rhino. N/a'an ku se's new partners, Willie and Rodica Agenbach, who manage the reserve and lodge, have extensive experience in animal husbandy, particularly with cheetahs and so we know they are the perfect partners to look after our 3 cheetahs in a small boma for the next month or two before they receive their hard release. </div>
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On our arrival, Willie and Rodica had prepared a delicious 3 course dinner for us which was a welcome end to a very long day. However, our journey didn't end there - while we put the cats to bed with sleeping bags and blankets over their cages in the cars to keep them warm over night and the film crew settled in for the night at the lodge, Flo, Tessa, Lucy and myself still had another 20km to drive to our Misson House accomodation - an abandoned mission settlement by the Orange River on the border with South Africa. </div>
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The old Mission is a group of buildings built about 40 years ago that used to be run by 2 sisters with a school and church. At its peak the settlement was home to around 70 people, farmed goats and sheep and had a vineyard and an orange orchard. After Namibia gained independence from SA in 1990 the number of people visiting the mission dropped so much that it was abandoned. </div>
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On our drive back to the lodge for breakfast the next morning we had our first chance to view the local scenery. It was very beautiful, rugged and remote, almost untouched by people. Rocky hills and mountains, open valleys, sandy riverbeds and small patches of bush combined to form an amazing landscape. Perfect for the leopard and 3 cheetahs we were to release here. </div>
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After breakfast we met Rudie and Marlice at the lodge's airstrip for their arrival. Apart from the standard driving shots, the film crew also wanted to set up a "motion picture" shot of Rudie's plane flying low overhead our 2 LandRovers driving. Amazingly this shot worked prefectly on the first take! </div>
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It was Wednesday 29th June and after a number of days in cages, we were all eager to release the cats so we fed Derek with some fresh hartebeest meat Willie had prepared for us and hosed down the cheetahs to keep them hydrated before driving them to the newly built 1 hectare boma, constructed in a valley specifically for the soft release. The site is set in a stunning valley surrounded by rugged mountains and rocky hills.</div>
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The smaller group at the release made it feel much more intimate and Willie and Rodica were given the honour of lifting up the gate on the 3 cheetahs. It only took a few seconds before Simon, the "sensible" one, jumped out, closely followed cautiously by Theodore, the "follower", while Alvin, the so called "adventurous" one, was last to leave.</div>
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Sticking together, they slowly made their way across to the fence and proceeded to explore their new temporary home, surrounded by mountains and wide open space. The transparency of the boma will help these cats really fit into their new environment without feeling to overhelmed. </div>
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We could have stayed watching the cheetahs' reaction to their new home for hours, but the light was fading and Derek was waiting. Willie and Rodica led us to a suitable spot for our last and final release. This was the most special moment we had all been waiting for - partly because it was a hard release so we knew we may never see him again and partly because it was a leopard, a truly wild animal which can never be tamed.</div>
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We chose a spacious plain with nearby hills and set Derek's cage on the ground and tipped it onto it's side so that the gate could be pulled opened from far away. Derek ferociously growled during the move, daring any one of us to mess with him! Once everyone was safely locked inside vehicles, through the window Rudie pulled the rope attached to the gate to slide it open and off. We all waited, but Derek did not stir.</div>
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After around 30 minutes we decided it was best to leave this solitary creature to come out on his own terms, alone. After spending the last few days on the back of a car with strange noises and movements, it is no suprise that the leopard was weary of our presence. 3 of the 5 cars nearby left - Rudie, Marlice and family in one, volunteers, staff in another and the film crew in the third. Just 2 cars remained - a lone camerman with Flo, and Willie and Rodica, when they saw Derek's head poke out of the cage, look around, spot the remaining cars and then hide back inside! The sun was setting and finally everyone left Derek to his peace, happy and content in the knowledge that he was going to live a very good life in Sandfontein!<br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span class="MsoSubtleReference"><b><span style="color: #002060; line-height: 115%;">Day 6-8 Follow up on our cats</span></b></span></span></div>
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After a few well needed, relaxing celebrations on Wednesday night, we were up early to check Derek's cage - fortunately it was empty, much to our delight. So we quickly headed to the lodge to get out the tracking equipment to see where he went. From the information we downloaded onto the computer from his GPS satellite collar we could tell that he left the cage in the early hours of the morning and made a steady and cautious approach towards the hill directly in front of his cage. We headed back out with the tracking receiver to see what direction he had ventured into during daylight and we were excited to find a faint trace of him moving in the far distance.</div>
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We then went to check on the Chipmunks to see how they were settling in. The 3 cheetahs were patrolling the back fence line, looking eager to explore the rest of their surroundings which is a great sign that they will adapt well here and shouldn't need too long to acclimatise. <br />
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The film crew headed back to South Africa whilst Flo, Tessa, Lucy and I stayed on to show Willie and Rodica how to use the tracking equipment and computer software so they can monitor Derek. We also set up 2 camera traps by waterholes in the hope that one day we'll see him for ourselves as well as capturing the other incredible wildlife in the area. The evening was spent enjoying a beautiful sundowner on the Orange River and we hit the road once again, a little lighter, on Friday morning to spread the long journey back to N/a'an ku se over two days. We arrived back home on Saturday lunchtime in very high spirits after a very successful release.<br />
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<span class="MsoSubtleReference"><b><span style="color: #002060; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Post-Release News on our Cats</span></b></span><br />
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The 4 cheetahs have adapted exceptionally well to their 500 hectare boma in Solitaire and after just 2 days Boris caught the first springbok! Futhermore, on 3rd July Matt and Kate took a group of tourists to the camp and spotted the two females AND Spartacus eating off a young springbok together. We don't know who was responsible for the catch, but the fact that the kill was shared means that these cats are going to live very well together.<br />
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In Sandfontein, our downloads show that Derek continued to move at a gentle pace over the next 4 days and on 5th July, Willie was lucky enough to spot our gorgeous leopard, looking full bellied, sitting relaxed on a mountain hill! He was near the waterhole where we placed the camera trap so hopefully we'll have snapped him too. The fact that he was well fed and near the waterhole suggests that he has succesfully hunted and sourced the water supply in the area - a perfect start to his new freedom.<br />
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A<b>ll of us at N/a'an ku se would like to thank every single person, company, foundation and organisation involved in making this release programme such a success. Thank you LandRover for donating the vehicles to make the trip possible, thanks to IdeaWild for donating 2 VHF collars and Claudio Frateschi and Dan mortimer for donating towards Derek's GPS satellite collar. Thank you to the Ministry of Environment and Tourism for supporting this release programme and our new partners in conservation - Walter and Simone of <a href="http://www.solitaireguestfarm.com/">Solitaire Guest Farm</a> and Willie and Rodica of <a href="http://www.sandfontein.com/">Sandfontein Nature Game Reserve and Luxury Lodge</a>. And a huge thanks to all the volunteers and N/a'an ku se staff for caring for these precious cats whilst at our sanctuary and for all their efforts in organising and running the Release of a Lifetime.</b><br />
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</div>Naankusehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14789234230703037380noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9038153880982837510.post-86707755187938682692011-06-15T09:28:00.000-07:002011-06-15T09:28:32.106-07:00The tragic loss of a young female cheetah caught in a snare trapOn the morning of Sunday 12th June 2011 Marlice van Vuuren received a telephone call reporting a leopard caught in a snare near Brakwater, north of Windhoek, Namibia.<br />
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A team, including Marlice and her husband Dr Rudie van Vuuren, was immediately dispatched to attend the scene, assess the condition & welfare of the animal and, if necessary, bring it back to the sanctuary for further examination and/or recuperation.<br />
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Upon arrival, it was discovered that it was not a leopard, but a young female cheetah no more than about 2 years old. She had tried to pass under the bottom wire of the fence and become trapped in a snare which had encircled her waist, just in front of her hips. So tightly was she entangled that her inevitable struggles resulted in her back being broken in the lumbar region of the spine. The injuries caused by the snare, in conjunction with the stress, shock and dehydration she would undoubtedly have suffered, resulted in her death long before the team from N/a’an ku sê arrived.<br />
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The scene was photographed from all angles to properly document the incident. The young cheetah was then cut free from the snare and brought to N/a’an ku sê where it will be examined by researchers to further the scientific knowledge about this extraordinary cat.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9OXGCtky4vtI8_uO6CUd9BlpCcLDFzy_nO_T5HtDJXIl62jo88r4FeyUkVPZFGzCtigCrn2ecMgOXLBziWAgs3FYgOFNa10y8Veow4DDRXhzplindEbT7Y7MbC98EyLZLQU8mppv4UNpf/s1600/cheetah+in+snare+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9OXGCtky4vtI8_uO6CUd9BlpCcLDFzy_nO_T5HtDJXIl62jo88r4FeyUkVPZFGzCtigCrn2ecMgOXLBziWAgs3FYgOFNa10y8Veow4DDRXhzplindEbT7Y7MbC98EyLZLQU8mppv4UNpf/s200/cheetah+in+snare+1.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTNiI9vV6NWl-G3YhFT331KhZmo6CjsctDblDpgnEhQmK8Mzh9_gygqCEHtzisKbXhBb-pJ1TT5ejkXnYsx8ShBvvLL2GshVjZhNWBv0a71MXHZMBeIFqSr6qS_t5w-Rhz-k4EskDKSv2N/s1600/cheetah+in+snare+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTNiI9vV6NWl-G3YhFT331KhZmo6CjsctDblDpgnEhQmK8Mzh9_gygqCEHtzisKbXhBb-pJ1TT5ejkXnYsx8ShBvvLL2GshVjZhNWBv0a71MXHZMBeIFqSr6qS_t5w-Rhz-k4EskDKSv2N/s200/cheetah+in+snare+2.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtMNZfYkYW9sohpSXcEGJu9Y29gkpm_-hOCFE_9MtgQn6d35Gt8wyDTlpxFO0MKdlZwTmm1QRa0Zttcr8AXilKzd9Ox_hKUyiq0g_N1IHP6YDoBLa6VJzeMzTI2FNvoKu5WIMNVrTiG2OW/s1600/IMG_0576.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtMNZfYkYW9sohpSXcEGJu9Y29gkpm_-hOCFE_9MtgQn6d35Gt8wyDTlpxFO0MKdlZwTmm1QRa0Zttcr8AXilKzd9Ox_hKUyiq0g_N1IHP6YDoBLa6VJzeMzTI2FNvoKu5WIMNVrTiG2OW/s200/IMG_0576.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>Naankusehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14789234230703037380noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9038153880982837510.post-75005253531278930552011-05-06T00:54:00.000-07:002011-05-06T00:57:05.636-07:00Lightning's Success Story<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLxiqhTb3O_4Pu28pNhqLYsCS2mlD7shLuUy9VZ1OX0VvcxoX7_0J7G6FBkgFaav461jAJRNW-bmEtXJzHn99QsoyPDoxM0WmpBfOpnEu_ftt8UyemfvucCqt2yi9BzPqhdFktfvZZIHJr/s1600/Animals_-_Lightening.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLxiqhTb3O_4Pu28pNhqLYsCS2mlD7shLuUy9VZ1OX0VvcxoX7_0J7G6FBkgFaav461jAJRNW-bmEtXJzHn99QsoyPDoxM0WmpBfOpnEu_ftt8UyemfvucCqt2yi9BzPqhdFktfvZZIHJr/s1600/Animals_-_Lightening.jpg" /></a></div><br />
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In December 2009, we released one of our young leopards, Lightning, on Wilderness Safari’s Little Kulala reserve.<br />
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On Saturday 23 April this year Rudie received a phone call from Johan Steyn of Tsauchab River Camp regarding a leopard with a radio collar which he and his guests have seen regularly at Tsauchab. Rudie knew immediately that it was Lightning. Her radio collar had stopped giving out signals in January this year so all of the N/a an ku sê team were very excited to hear that, after 15 months of freedom, Lightning had been seen and that she is in good health and there is no conflict with the farmers in that area.<br />
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It is fantastic to know that Lightning can add value to Johan Steyn’s tourism market. It is a very good example of how tourism and conservation can work together and we now send all information about Lightning to Johan so that he can share it with his guests.Naankusehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14789234230703037380noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9038153880982837510.post-65488957149910646122011-04-26T08:39:00.000-07:002011-04-27T07:40:48.582-07:00Opening of a new Conservation and Tourism Centre in Solitaire<div style="text-align: justify;">Our new site will be a 500-hectare reserve and will accommodate injured and sick cheetahs with the view of releasing them back into the wild. Cheetahs that have come into conflict with humans but are not livestock killers will be part of the reintroduction program. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Centre will host an educational facility that is open to the public and offer display information and seminar talks about our Conservation Research Program. Tourists will also be able to join our group of elite biologists to assist in wildlife activities such as feeding the animals, wildlife-tracking within the purpose-built enclosures, nature walks on and around the farm, and carnivore surveillance in the greater Namib area. </div><div><br />
</div><div>To find out more about volunteering at either our Namibrand site or our new Solitaire site please contact <a href="mailto:volunteer@naankuse.com">volunteer@naankuse.com</a></div><div><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4PsRsX_i5_GxKzglOAfEuXQz5ubpY5YWTI6h3Y0eEhD3VAgACZL1ra8toCut9KO7NiM-IcJJQL6jBgRFO-h__ywldUYYK_6OLmb9IUonGPEYnTV8zzh-Cf99ByJDlaBOGjzi06HvivH95/s1600/Naankuse+carnivore+conservation+release+programme+2700.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4PsRsX_i5_GxKzglOAfEuXQz5ubpY5YWTI6h3Y0eEhD3VAgACZL1ra8toCut9KO7NiM-IcJJQL6jBgRFO-h__ywldUYYK_6OLmb9IUonGPEYnTV8zzh-Cf99ByJDlaBOGjzi06HvivH95/s320/Naankuse+carnivore+conservation+release+programme+2700.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLLhh5PraNUgEL3YzXDOaLcOrwY_YCuZR0BSTMEFooADX1fFuQpbTgDbhKyGYi09Lh_iTdTI7MnPibkGTL6fZd4M9m6l1lWqjtm58USaNa2YGgFUg5_q2vic2QTxPcYEwiEy102XXh7vaH/s1600/Naankuse+tracking.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLLhh5PraNUgEL3YzXDOaLcOrwY_YCuZR0BSTMEFooADX1fFuQpbTgDbhKyGYi09Lh_iTdTI7MnPibkGTL6fZd4M9m6l1lWqjtm58USaNa2YGgFUg5_q2vic2QTxPcYEwiEy102XXh7vaH/s320/Naankuse+tracking.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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</div>Naankusehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14789234230703037380noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9038153880982837510.post-62571264268935014192010-09-15T07:35:00.000-07:002010-09-15T07:35:04.830-07:00Naankuse's New Camera Traps<div style="color: #073763; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><i><b><span style="font-size: small;">N/a’an ku sê are very grateful for the sponsorship of our new and very exciting camera traps. The first few have been set up around the Windhoek study area in locations where regular activity has been recorded previously, e.g. in riverbeds for leopards, at marking trees for cheetahs and at water holes.<a name='more'></a></span></b></i></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The cameras are being set up to capture pictures of large carnivores and other animals in order to gather data of their movements, especially at night when they are most active. Camera traps are the latest technology in monitoring and the infra-red light means they go unnoticed and can take pictures at night when the cats are most active. Our new cameras will add a new dimension to our conservation research work and help us assess population, nocturnal activities and identify free-roaming carnivores. </span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">When the National Leopard Census with the MET begins we will also pool our cameras at a specific site to assist with data collection on leopards in Namibia. They will then be part of 400km squared sampling grids which are rotated between different study sites in the country.</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The cameras have captured a huge amount of great pictures in just a few weeks including 8 different cheetahs from several different coalitions, a large male leopard and much more besides! Flo is beside himself with excitement at the data collected already and the input and insight this will give into the lives of large carnivores in and around N/a’an ku sê. For example, some pictures taken at 2am demonstrate that cheetahs clearly are not entirely diurnal like most textbooks say. There was a good moonlight that night and the cat’s activity demonstrates that they make use of natural light for explorations. </span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">Thank you to our camera traps sponsors so far; Rennies Travel, Dan Mortimer, Maarten Weehuizen, Glyn Hale, Les Heal and Uta, Kurt & Ingo Weise. If you would like to sponsor one please email donations@naankuse.com </span></b></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="color: #073763; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">Here’s some of pictures captured so far</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm5FI78cZU-fzTbvlR4KJ5AW_iwUfvLaXd_Q9SHbtlvLrn7XZI1LHUEBFsQ1Zp-o6eNohF6GrF7L75APVI-AHRnf838YLB637Up8puE4OB6CHb3_gwfZpdx5IJGwX5NPWMRbBLemf2JrAM/s1600/PICT0090b_resize.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm5FI78cZU-fzTbvlR4KJ5AW_iwUfvLaXd_Q9SHbtlvLrn7XZI1LHUEBFsQ1Zp-o6eNohF6GrF7L75APVI-AHRnf838YLB637Up8puE4OB6CHb3_gwfZpdx5IJGwX5NPWMRbBLemf2JrAM/s200/PICT0090b_resize.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4cpoo3vqrPsrZoFM7G89Imvob87NIppV7gnzNP-e2k_NOz0jN8kxgT-5PzDMSSkjtjYBQaEuThZxp-RFKRaR1oCUiqGL6J0MUGSKZ_A3VCu26v5Ga4-2qMFjQrPTxvItdHVSpGc8H7AWf/s1600/PICT0091_resize.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; 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margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirrn62rFdKFZLCxo3ZMVmDHmnN5Webx_n5bHOJXFkAIW6AHjVIW9jhTyOv8yWLGt-UAs0qzQi441R-D8Xo22PMFNMt9kyp1DWExb_oIGnuXRz3fibWWmvgy__aGJIEmVT-u18Oym5Fu9X7/s200/PICT0174_resize.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVPtEzoiiJSFt23dmqdaICsKC3ViuMMhyphenhyphenVPItpxOonR-UfB3MzMsPuKYpJ4y7s8NQ6Tr9sbs9pE9QRnsuWqtIRluLONi_3_qcpmxJw0z-T298pP7SNa17ZM5s1vq2rsVBaJvBbDriRVoIm/s1600/PICT0086.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVPtEzoiiJSFt23dmqdaICsKC3ViuMMhyphenhyphenVPItpxOonR-UfB3MzMsPuKYpJ4y7s8NQ6Tr9sbs9pE9QRnsuWqtIRluLONi_3_qcpmxJw0z-T298pP7SNa17ZM5s1vq2rsVBaJvBbDriRVoIm/s200/PICT0086.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWw_5ZR7kNkSdwRaRwB2qisE8FAzDmMfGVqqn64gHExcb9SEwk6HlNskdx5mECifSw4DlsQMlWdPuLQ8UY8cQW2iaAxmX2Ou7t9rSOpj2p6MGX5dK6CuQo0sdlqQe4SAvD00JXEt8Ei4DP/s1600/PICT0201_resize.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWw_5ZR7kNkSdwRaRwB2qisE8FAzDmMfGVqqn64gHExcb9SEwk6HlNskdx5mECifSw4DlsQMlWdPuLQ8UY8cQW2iaAxmX2Ou7t9rSOpj2p6MGX5dK6CuQo0sdlqQe4SAvD00JXEt8Ei4DP/s200/PICT0201_resize.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ_drOemuyYKTneFldWT4G19Zk4Kr3QXECrqGJwZ8Tl0SD0Fy2yLBHoEfAVcClhzhYa3xoEReeG1vYiCkYiyMeKpss3nPaT4IDS-DgdR-a0nyM1caOUzdLhTxFuUf6FdVA0RwbWtcHNGk9/s1600/PICT1112_resize.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ_drOemuyYKTneFldWT4G19Zk4Kr3QXECrqGJwZ8Tl0SD0Fy2yLBHoEfAVcClhzhYa3xoEReeG1vYiCkYiyMeKpss3nPaT4IDS-DgdR-a0nyM1caOUzdLhTxFuUf6FdVA0RwbWtcHNGk9/s200/PICT1112_resize.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO6nX9c4P7bMRGfBa_Y0FxMXfNg58ZQGbx9fiRTULSFoXg-vNmnX2kzBQjCRu4r7eWL7qUY98_vQefhfqwW1VACgkzN54LcFL11LsQtL4aPdKusBFvlJ7brkFFsV3qssMfqvTkG8vyV1Nf/s1600/PICT0332_resize.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO6nX9c4P7bMRGfBa_Y0FxMXfNg58ZQGbx9fiRTULSFoXg-vNmnX2kzBQjCRu4r7eWL7qUY98_vQefhfqwW1VACgkzN54LcFL11LsQtL4aPdKusBFvlJ7brkFFsV3qssMfqvTkG8vyV1Nf/s200/PICT0332_resize.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8xMUcPQw7hc_c-jbVBmryp4JAUBJWJzS_RIhusCi3fEasyCl87lBFNtTydMoLraO6EWsn20W9Eq35mnUNi8R5erX9bzcRTMOPUAfgvLypOW3PtUvVDh2XGrqwuxlm50wayjgmMVHBcvG1/s1600/PICT0247_resize.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWJtd7pmEkFi21F70lqdH1IxyYykBKJ812-ojkOQE9-StTlF9w2BdtNkAtkQPkxzN_qeeH3jfEa7GlKlcg0CLepef3B42kDCMd5g60TwykMYUQZe-Velp7MF8pGXkuILLzPNuKiv_Gx_Dk/s1600/PICT0462_resize.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWJtd7pmEkFi21F70lqdH1IxyYykBKJ812-ojkOQE9-StTlF9w2BdtNkAtkQPkxzN_qeeH3jfEa7GlKlcg0CLepef3B42kDCMd5g60TwykMYUQZe-Velp7MF8pGXkuILLzPNuKiv_Gx_Dk/s200/PICT0462_resize.JPG" width="200" /></a><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8xMUcPQw7hc_c-jbVBmryp4JAUBJWJzS_RIhusCi3fEasyCl87lBFNtTydMoLraO6EWsn20W9Eq35mnUNi8R5erX9bzcRTMOPUAfgvLypOW3PtUvVDh2XGrqwuxlm50wayjgmMVHBcvG1/s200/PICT0247_resize.JPG" width="200" /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; 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</div>Naankusehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14789234230703037380noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9038153880982837510.post-37907968156025059322010-09-15T07:18:00.000-07:002010-09-15T07:18:59.019-07:00Conservation Research Team update - Sept 10<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheazkt8u36B5MduYGyAyQm5rDUhP4y7c53Yg1uPI22cl5ZN0VBAwx_Sl42QUknYRf-xYa_IyXopqceq2IIialuU-eQszNBXi3bqhrbctqRGa64H6SmWMQQ-NP-duHhtN-33OEzhl4IgFJe/s1600/IMG_7109+-+cheetah+brothers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheazkt8u36B5MduYGyAyQm5rDUhP4y7c53Yg1uPI22cl5ZN0VBAwx_Sl42QUknYRf-xYa_IyXopqceq2IIialuU-eQszNBXi3bqhrbctqRGa64H6SmWMQQ-NP-duHhtN-33OEzhl4IgFJe/s200/IMG_7109+-+cheetah+brothers.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i style="color: #0b5394;"><b>The research team and its volunteers have been extremely busy with a number of different predator cases over the past few months. Our new Land Rover has been worth its weight in gold allowing the research team to respond to all of these cases, picking up threatened carnivores and transporting them to the safety of N/a’an ku sê and then onto safe release sites. Below are just a few examples from the last three months:</b></i></span><br />
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</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">In June, the research team got called out to help a young male cheetah which had been hit by a car on the airport road. Upon arrival we realised that the cat was severely injured and immobilised him for transport and emergency treatment in Windhoek. Unfortunately, the cheetah was paralysed with a broken spine and 3 fractured legs as well as a severe head trauma which tragically left the vets with no other opportunity than to relieve the animal from its pain.</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzfXGI7uxsDlPagDlSH4RT0IRAeWSe1lnlsF_du9i1yyLDcelxKnK9ZO9YWNF_hrbqRnxj3BMD1FBIh0pwaqplW-TLR0MSXUa5rTmgLmUpezKW5Zr6NRBjicL8JVU5kcOWxh_s1xOjfdaV/s1600/IMG_1966+-+3rd+male+cheetah+fr+East+Nam_resize.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzfXGI7uxsDlPagDlSH4RT0IRAeWSe1lnlsF_du9i1yyLDcelxKnK9ZO9YWNF_hrbqRnxj3BMD1FBIh0pwaqplW-TLR0MSXUa5rTmgLmUpezKW5Zr6NRBjicL8JVU5kcOWxh_s1xOjfdaV/s200/IMG_1966+-+3rd+male+cheetah+fr+East+Nam_resize.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span><span style="font-size: small;">Later in June, three 4-5 year-old cheetah males from the eastern parts of Namibia came into our care. As we were convinced that the animals were no real problem predators, we started searching for release sites immediately. The two brothers and their loosely associated companion were released after just five weeks. Rudie and Marlice set free the duo of brothers on a private nature reserve whilst the third male was released on a private conservation farm. Strangely enough, nearly 4 weeks after release, one of the brothers was recaptured in the city of Swakopmund at the Atlantic Ocean and he became headline news in </span><span style="font-size: small;"></span><span style="font-size: small;">Namibia! He was transferred back to N/a’an ku se but has now been successfully re-released again. </span><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/naankuse1#p/u/6/XFRcW_IVhNE">Watch the cheetah release video</a> </span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgihyphenhyphen38YMu4Pg8y9x78yX_p7ORgmDTa_TBx-k83p6N1SZadc88V6m7woRy96zWo-2PoQ8Yi_aYskXNZuxbaFtZilodosMZw6zvQ1cnaOfbHjCMGsxLvuAmxNWe2sv9rN_Re_BVnRzT2XyaP/s1600/DSC_0778+-+female+leopard_resize.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgihyphenhyphen38YMu4Pg8y9x78yX_p7ORgmDTa_TBx-k83p6N1SZadc88V6m7woRy96zWo-2PoQ8Yi_aYskXNZuxbaFtZilodosMZw6zvQ1cnaOfbHjCMGsxLvuAmxNWe2sv9rN_Re_BVnRzT2XyaP/s200/DSC_0778+-+female+leopard_resize.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">In early August, we received a call about a young leopard female that had killed livestock on a farm in western Namibia. It has also been venturing extremely close to the farm house, putting families and their children at risk. The researchers went out and investigated the situation, capturing the leopard as she was such a risk. The young disoriented female had probably just been expelled from her mother’s range and was confused during the search for her own territory. After a short stint at N/a’an ku se she was released back into freedom. When the gate of the transport box opened the leopard surprised everybody present by climbing into the nearest tree and falling asleep right there!</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXo5-uN7Pr8Fe3_JUQ8m6jcv7ld8cXI16hY2zO2mxp_ObOALuJxL2cbZKWNnEkSs9LheNFKJheDZAo2-sMh3Wf7hGMpM94R1kwtlDlv-5xe8nBpSaLBy4TZM-tmIHyJJWoYv61T2VNbpU2/s1600/DSCF8002+-+brown+hyena_resize.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXo5-uN7Pr8Fe3_JUQ8m6jcv7ld8cXI16hY2zO2mxp_ObOALuJxL2cbZKWNnEkSs9LheNFKJheDZAo2-sMh3Wf7hGMpM94R1kwtlDlv-5xe8nBpSaLBy4TZM-tmIHyJJWoYv61T2VNbpU2/s200/DSCF8002+-+brown+hyena_resize.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Only 2 weeks later we were asked to assist with a problem scenario surrounding a brown hyena male. A highly unusual situation but the farmer had severe problems with predation on his cattle and the hyena was trapped with a calf which had been killed the day before. It is likely that the hyena was only “polishing off” the remains of a leopard kill but there was no proof of that and the hyena had been observed several times within the calving herds. We decided to move the 55kg brown hyena, collar him and release him as soon as possible. After only a week on N/a’an ku se we were lucky enough to get assistance from a private game reserve in northern central Namibia who agreed to release him on their land. </span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/naankuse1#p/u/1/an7-1bSCw_4">Watch the Brown Hyena video</a></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2kWCvoAHJDoAjuGj_0RYeqmQVBhA-QBPFjVoluvwcTD8JrMzgN_plClQeUxaH2mbBq3vQ2hvFB1yN3rsLUN18UQKaxKn0k6zlV8TjIeuzaV9FNsjdQVe1EVkGA3KdP78EA0FOIBFfcT-h/s1600/IMG_7158+cheetah+brothers_resize.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2kWCvoAHJDoAjuGj_0RYeqmQVBhA-QBPFjVoluvwcTD8JrMzgN_plClQeUxaH2mbBq3vQ2hvFB1yN3rsLUN18UQKaxKn0k6zlV8TjIeuzaV9FNsjdQVe1EVkGA3KdP78EA0FOIBFfcT-h/s200/IMG_7158+cheetah+brothers_resize.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The group of three cheetahs released on NamibRand earlier this year are doing absolutely fine. Although the group split up after the release, the research team in the south has managed to follow the individuals and confirmed that the animals are hunting. They have not settled down into a specific area yet but we will keep you posted.</span></div>Naankusehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14789234230703037380noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9038153880982837510.post-39685630873837314642010-07-16T01:35:00.000-07:002010-07-16T01:35:22.457-07:00Two cheetah capture & release - June 2010<b><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">N/a’an ku sê’s Director and renowned conservationist, Marlice van Vuuren, and N/a’an ku sê’s research biologist, Florian Weise recently collected two male cheetah from a farm in the East of Namibia. They were released just a few weeks later into the safety the beautiful Kulala Nature Reserve in the South of Namibia. Our resident film maker, Gus was lucky enough to go on both trips and tells us about the release…</span></b><br />
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</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Marlice and Flo were accompanied by the French film crew One Planet to a farm near Witvlei, in the east of Namibia, to pick up two cheetah that were depleting breeding game stock. They collected two males, who were about three years old, in one of our newly sponsored Land Rovers.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAU1Jtj31yJCm3FLkgv22wbsfPYiidAvTcsKSNk04hzeYyCZVNH-LaZbrB6UNoSPelUJ5CsLUq6lKo51yEM1Ayycq8c50Ep4VyYd7qUFiKtBYVAf9YTzlbRsVECqbcEGZZdHlKP6ZZ8z4p/s1600/Naankuse+cheetah+release+-+June+2010_3_resize.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAU1Jtj31yJCm3FLkgv22wbsfPYiidAvTcsKSNk04hzeYyCZVNH-LaZbrB6UNoSPelUJ5CsLUq6lKo51yEM1Ayycq8c50Ep4VyYd7qUFiKtBYVAf9YTzlbRsVECqbcEGZZdHlKP6ZZ8z4p/s200/Naankuse+cheetah+release+-+June+2010_3_resize.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Following a short stay at N/a’an ku sê, the cheetah were safely darted and transferred to a capture cage on Saturday June 26th. The darting and transfer to the cages took approximately fifty minutes in total. It was amazing to see the whole darting process…the team was like a well oiled machine, they knew exactly what to do and how to do. There was never a moment of hesitation; they needed to work quickly to take all the measurements and samples while the males were still under. </div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Early the next morning, the cheetah were transferred, on the back of the Land Rover, to Kulala Desert Lodge, which is about 400km from N/a’an ku sê. It was a long drive but Kulala is one of the more beautiful places I have ever been to in my life. Surrounded by bright red sand dunes, if I were a cheetah…that is where I would want to live. Once we arrived at Kulala the cheetahs were feed two chickens and we left them in their transport cage for the evening. </div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEienvx-tPCFgGBBt3IVy0QL2iybhKwNn_b3o0PO6MkYN1knQsraVSxFNo61onhLsXgH4PpJddI6FmvNmWPEQfI8OeRkBPZLYvXeZkcwDhL6HcbKOlhqWl3dndE0Y3V00CHa1dT8QOlbJL0r/s1600/Naankuse+cheetah+release+-+June+2010_4_resize.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEienvx-tPCFgGBBt3IVy0QL2iybhKwNn_b3o0PO6MkYN1knQsraVSxFNo61onhLsXgH4PpJddI6FmvNmWPEQfI8OeRkBPZLYvXeZkcwDhL6HcbKOlhqWl3dndE0Y3V00CHa1dT8QOlbJL0r/s200/Naankuse+cheetah+release+-+June+2010_4_resize.jpg" width="200" /></a> </div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The next day, it was time for the big release. It was actually rather comical because the two cats did not want to leave the capture cage once the gate was open. This can often happen with cheetah and it’s not unusual for them to have to be left to leave the cage overnight. </div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Our pair sat in the cage for about an hour and a half before Rudie and Marlice slide the cage out from under them. But still they did not want to leave and it then took another half an hour before the two cheetah ran to freedom. It was quite funny because there was a group of people watching the release and the cats, which were out of the cage, just did not want to go! It was absolutely amazing to be that close to wild cheetah without any fence between them and I. They are beautiful animals. </div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioLdjL8_7yK0ixCG1JrIkG0euA1dW6y5qodAqk1ouqancN9zi4_rpOMBtpgI22LcCgONUMYz4WzYlC1bXuju9GkeNkTaQsqWCbv70FBmv4nlSzAHBUHKni_cLjO2_Oru06fJzudXiVURW1/s1600/Naankuse+cheetah+release+-+June+2010_2_resize.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioLdjL8_7yK0ixCG1JrIkG0euA1dW6y5qodAqk1ouqancN9zi4_rpOMBtpgI22LcCgONUMYz4WzYlC1bXuju9GkeNkTaQsqWCbv70FBmv4nlSzAHBUHKni_cLjO2_Oru06fJzudXiVURW1/s200/Naankuse+cheetah+release+-+June+2010_2_resize.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">When they had been darted, we had fitted them each with a VHF radio collar for tracking and monitoring purposes. We were able to get a signal later that evening following their release. The next morning we signaled for them again but we were not able to gather any signal from them. The receiver we had maxed out at about 3km and from what we gather, they had run off together in the direction of a mountain, which was a lot more than 3km away. </div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYXXRD7k8E9Syas0HWe9mUVH6a2zSrgCQ2RU-BVMLUp3OUMk8c84YdGYp40opKsOlEwG9REJwLXO3GWlN2b06pYqJSr_DW9btRO4x9kU5kCxq4Ct78r5gUhtjEqmnqrRr_ND6VGo76nfWq/s1600/Naankuse+cheetah+release+-+June+2010_1_resize.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYXXRD7k8E9Syas0HWe9mUVH6a2zSrgCQ2RU-BVMLUp3OUMk8c84YdGYp40opKsOlEwG9REJwLXO3GWlN2b06pYqJSr_DW9btRO4x9kU5kCxq4Ct78r5gUhtjEqmnqrRr_ND6VGo76nfWq/s200/Naankuse+cheetah+release+-+June+2010_1_resize.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The whole process went very smoothly with no problems and now the cats have a lovely new home where they can run free. </div>Naankusehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14789234230703037380noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9038153880982837510.post-70346237107425492132010-06-14T04:03:00.000-07:002010-09-15T11:24:25.511-07:00Cheetah Soft Release in NamibRand, May 2010<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij1HsDMguPWrxoqL7zZt_sVrZxEy2pAZxNWAXT2TWpgAhJxI1I4miOTb8WLZOxF2WWUUDqQyMO212rZUyi_T4BGTEqSY2PpYzKC0Pkod230CmazVa2n0rHVkLbNEzPyELGG1AJjbRfv9OP/s1600/Cheetah+release.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij1HsDMguPWrxoqL7zZt_sVrZxEy2pAZxNWAXT2TWpgAhJxI1I4miOTb8WLZOxF2WWUUDqQyMO212rZUyi_T4BGTEqSY2PpYzKC0Pkod230CmazVa2n0rHVkLbNEzPyELGG1AJjbRfv9OP/s200/Cheetah+release.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><h2 style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">In May 2010, three of our eight cheetah cubs started their journey back to the wild with a soft release in a specially made enclosure near our research base in NamibRand Nature Reserve. Here, volunteer Keith smith writes about their journey....</span></h2><h2 style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a name='more'></a> </span></h2><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">It was an early start as Jane, Paul and I, the three lucky volunteers experiencing this momentous occasion, met with two of N/a’an ku sê’s research co-ordinator’s, Christine and Lars, at 5:30am. Christine and Lars had travelled up from their research base in the Namibrand reserve a couple of days earlier for supplies and to pick up the cheetahs that they would be looking after and releasing in a few weeks time. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">Once the vehicle was loaded with all of our rucksacks and supplies, we headed off to the cheetah enclosure to pick up the transporters containing the two male and one female cheetah. After residing with N/a’an ku sê over the past year, the three were finally old and strong enough to start their release back into the wild. The three were sharing a large enclosure with a further five juvenile cheetah and two older ones, Chiquito and Vasco. All of the cubs had been caught by farmers and were brought to us in early 2009 when they were fairly small and fluffy. They have grown a huge amount since this time and N/a’an ku sê have been careful to ensure that they remain wild in order to give them the best chance of survival back out in their natural habitat.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3hootD0qhHjUJi9s8y_2mTHf1y79XCyOwbuWSxGkeYLfku9ZwohHKQehqHIGpujS5DLvAd0QLlY_Um0itMUD-ifb6ibJCtSTBYuEwCJZlqOg2BzmRDuSU6yIgV-Zx336LqtQNfxRFbAea/s1600/Cheetahs+in+transporter.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3hootD0qhHjUJi9s8y_2mTHf1y79XCyOwbuWSxGkeYLfku9ZwohHKQehqHIGpujS5DLvAd0QLlY_Um0itMUD-ifb6ibJCtSTBYuEwCJZlqOg2BzmRDuSU6yIgV-Zx336LqtQNfxRFbAea/s320/Cheetahs+in+transporter.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">To start the journey into their new life, the conservation research team had safely set box traps in the main camp a few days earlier. We managed to get the two male cub<span style="background-color: white;">s but the </span><span style="-moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous; -moz-background-origin: padding; background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%;">female was</span><span style="background-color: white;"> </span>rather too wily and had to be darted by Marlice and Rudie. The cheetahs spent a day in the box traps to give them a bit of time to get used to it and to prevent them becoming too stressed out for the journey to come. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">That morning, the cheetahs were all looking well, so we hooked the trailer up and began our 600km journey to Namibrand. The trip was uneventful, although on stopping a number of times to check on the welfare of the cheetahs and refuel in our colourfully Land Rover, we received a lot of interest and funny looks from bystanders!<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">We finally arrived at the research base, Aandster, late in the evening, so we left the cheetahs in the transporters and got some rest ourselves. The next morning it was up early again to take them to their new 5 hectare enclosure where we placed the transport cage and opened the gates. All three seemed reluctant to leave at first but <span style="-moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous; -moz-background-origin: padding; background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%;">they eventually ran o</span><span style="background-color: white;">ut of the cage into the furthest corners of the enclosure where </span>they stayed out of view. We retired to a small observation hide on an opposite kopje and watched them start pacing the fence line. The NamibRand ranger had supplied us with a fresh carcass which we put in the enclosure and sat for the rest of the day watching them settle in until twilight arrived.<o:p></o:p></span><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg0CBPlie7fMt1AD_8yYeZrgPAyIQItSPr3w-nqhF5op9dK7waH0xuqeMZ2jYN62VRqnjKUyqW_lTk3qmG-PcxjrODHlNJZXKfzCp6yXONKspIyKI2DA0kmGsawJQeDkQl6RJlOL_Ij2fs/s1600/Hide+on+kopje_resize.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg0CBPlie7fMt1AD_8yYeZrgPAyIQItSPr3w-nqhF5op9dK7waH0xuqeMZ2jYN62VRqnjKUyqW_lTk3qmG-PcxjrODHlNJZXKfzCp6yXONKspIyKI2DA0kmGsawJQeDkQl6RJlOL_Ij2fs/s320/Hide+on+kopje_resize.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">The next morning <span style="background-color: white;">we </span><span style="-moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous; -moz-background-origin: padding; background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%;">conducted</span><span style="background-color: white;"> a fe</span>nce check, looking for signs of animal activity around the enclosure. We discovered that the carcass had not been touched so we decided to remove the legs and place them in the far end of the enclosure near to where the cheetah had been hiding during our presence. We then retired to our hide and eventually the cheetahs found the legs and began eating which was very good news. By the next day they had also eaten the whole carcass and found the water hole. Over the next couple of days we could see that they were getting more and more used to their new environment and the routine of us carrying out the fence check. As they began to relax they remained closer by, watching us instead of running away out of sight. A second carcass was put into the enclosure and this time there was no hesitation and most of it was gone by the morning. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">We continued the same routine over the next few days and it was great to see them start to relax and enjoy their new surroundings; lying on the rocks looking out at the Springbok and Oryx in the valley below them. They quickly started to return to their natural behaviour of mutual grooming and the big male started to scent mark the enclosure which was a great sign that they were settling in. Sadly our stay at Aandster was over too quickly and we had to return to N/a’an ku sê, ready for the next group of volunteers to take over. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">We hope that the cheetahs will continue to explore their new home, ready for their release in a few weeks time. After such an amazing experience I cannot wait to return and track them in the beautiful landscape of the NamibRand reserve.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">If you would like to experience the excitement of tracking cheetah and leopard and getting involved with our conservation work, join our <a href="http://www.naankuse.com/voluntering-namibia/volunteer-carnivore-conservation/volunteer-carnivore-conservation.html">Carnivore Conservation volunteering</a> programme and email <a href="mailto:bookingsnaankuse@iway.na">bookingsnaankuse@iway.na</a></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>Naankusehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14789234230703037380noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9038153880982837510.post-10518570694049710192010-06-14T03:53:00.000-07:002010-09-15T11:24:52.857-07:00Leopard Release – Caitlin, March 2010<div style="color: #073763;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBSSKrzz_4eej6QlT48Vr4hkZYeGnPKnLx9HIKxYIbYT0u8ADtg0ybm-GRtbhiB15D5y2NhD2pz5rO_0TVcr9wDn7Eza_TGee7wArhPU2mXE3nP3i0K7fAxYj5uUYl6n8sprzdAvwFp6dm/s1600/Caitlin+release_4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBSSKrzz_4eej6QlT48Vr4hkZYeGnPKnLx9HIKxYIbYT0u8ADtg0ybm-GRtbhiB15D5y2NhD2pz5rO_0TVcr9wDn7Eza_TGee7wArhPU2mXE3nP3i0K7fAxYj5uUYl6n8sprzdAvwFp6dm/s200/Caitlin+release_4.JPG" width="133" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>After arriving with us in late December, N/a’an ku sê finally secured the required permits and a safe site for Caitlin’s release back to the wild. Caitlin had been captured by a farmer and gave birth to three cubs whilst in his care. After the death of one of the cubs, he quickly realised he was unable to raise them and contacted us. In March, Caitlin was anesthetised and blood and stool samples taken and then loaded into the capture cage ready for her translocation the following morning. Volunteer Casper tells us about her release.</b> </span></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIEowQ3VuydIADxm2LPNhwPlSuF31GunkGCopLXrMnkUfse3OAVl7k-qrGWz17bd9ECbqIfNWOcOMe1lBVxlzbw2yigNT2DF_eDO96wzrEEwaV9h2A6WJyQxnXPRqwf4Ci3QxO9iUOtJfP/s1600/Caitlin+release_1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIEowQ3VuydIADxm2LPNhwPlSuF31GunkGCopLXrMnkUfse3OAVl7k-qrGWz17bd9ECbqIfNWOcOMe1lBVxlzbw2yigNT2DF_eDO96wzrEEwaV9h2A6WJyQxnXPRqwf4Ci3QxO9iUOtJfP/s200/Caitlin+release_1.JPG" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;">After waking up at 5 in the morning and grabbing a cup of tea and a few slices of toast to wake up, the group of four volunteers and one coordinator were gathered quietly around the almost fully packed truck. Serious and cool as ever; Cila was squeezing in the last few items and making sure we had everything we needed while the rest of us tried to keep our voices down (despite excitement that we were stood 2 feet away from the cage where the Leopard we were about to release was sleeping). The sky was still dark and after double checking we had what we needed we piled into the car. <br />
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It was a tight squeeze on the backseat; 3 people, rucksacks, sleeping bags and roll-up mattresses but we made it work. Then, at just before 6am, the long journey ensued. We stopped quite early on in the journey to go to a petrol station, and as the poor unsuspecting patrons and staff of the gas station would walk past the coloured Land Rover, a now awake Caitlin was growling and roaring from inside the covered capture cage. Which, to us, when paired with the look on everyone's faces was hilarious. Afterwards we carried on, out of the city and towards the desert with a cocktail of chattering, sleeping, games and genuinely talented sing-a-longs to cheesy pop radio anthems (as any decent road trip should entail). <br />
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We drove all through the morning, stopping again briefly to eat our packed lunches and have a quick dance (the giddiness taking its toll on some of us) before arriving at our destination on the edge of the oldest desert in the world at 1pm. <br />
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We parked Caitlin under a tree and went into the building where we would sleep which was simple, stone and had no electricity. We then had a few hours to relax after the drive which some utilised to sleep, others to sit fully clothed in a tiny stone waterhole dug into the ground (it was exceedingly hot). <br />
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At about 4.30, rejuvenated and mostly dry we loaded back into the car and made our way to the release site. The reserve where we were going was a decent drive away, made longer by the game and wildlife viewing possibilities. Springbok, Oryx, Zebra, Kudu, Wildebeest, the list goes on. It was such a beautiful, mountainous area that there weren't enough hours in the day to soak it up. <br />
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After meeting up with the two workers who were to show us where to release and help us with the process we followed their car to a place near a waterhole in a vast open space between two mountains. Cila thought carefully about the spot as, after having released many animals in the past, she knows fully what is necessary to provide a safe place for them to be. Cila chose a spot where if the cage was angled correctly the Leopard would be able to see the water, bushes for shelter and an empty riverbed. <br />
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After removing the cage from the truck and spending time organising the contraption that allowed the capture cage door to be opened from a distance via a pulley mechanism Cila stood in sight of the cage door and splashed the water in the waterhole, this ensuring that Caitlin was fully aware that it was there. We then moved the cars to a safe distance away and Cila sat in the driver’s seat with the rope release in her hand. Anna, Caroline, Cila and I were inside our truck. Shaun had joined one of the workers in his car so that he could sit in the front passenger seat in a prime position to see and take photographs. </span> <br />
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</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqm5fpIZlqt4NyRSv9BQcmXmRKZyJWDB_CsLGdkijHSQe40Hq2D6shaGP0XPqDhA80etykK4-1uC8dQNTKlbfdwIIhFHNCi5b-VH_UXSyMaxlTG91fD0GslB5GJso1k4GOEaVUIJiic1lD/s1600/Caitlin+release_3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqm5fpIZlqt4NyRSv9BQcmXmRKZyJWDB_CsLGdkijHSQe40Hq2D6shaGP0XPqDhA80etykK4-1uC8dQNTKlbfdwIIhFHNCi5b-VH_UXSyMaxlTG91fD0GslB5GJso1k4GOEaVUIJiic1lD/s200/Caitlin+release_3.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;">Excited and tense the atmosphere in our car was amazing. We couldn't believe what was about to happen and couldn't wait to see how Caitlin would react. Silence fell and Cila started pulling the rope, Anna took the end and held it tightly, before Caroline joined in (a great deal of strength needed to hold it steadily). The gate got higher and higher until it was completely open. What seemed like an eternity went by and no-one said a word. We just sat and waited. After a couple of minutes Caitlin started moving, She moved towards the opening very slowly and took a step towards it. She paused and then took another step, then another, her head now free. She walked just enough to the right to look directly back and face our car. Her eyes on us for a split second before she turned back and gracefully and carefully walked free into the wild. It was beautiful and still we didn't speak, simply watched in awe as this incredible creature wandered slowly into the river bed before turning and heading for the sheltered bushes (exactly as Cila had predicted). Considering that inside her cage, she'd always seemed so massive, once she set foot outside it, she looked tiny. <br />
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After waiting for a while, we drove back to the house, stopping on the way to take photos of the awesome sunset. When we got back, we were exhausted. We made a fire and drank a cold beer before settling down to sleep.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br />
All in all, the experience was amazing and I will never forget it. <br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;">Naankuse would like to thank Kevin & Caitlin O’Connell for adopting Caitlin. Please email <a href="mailto:donationsnaankuse@iway.na">donationsnaankuse@iway.na</a> if you would like to adopt an animal or sponsor a collar.</span></b>Naankusehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14789234230703037380noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9038153880982837510.post-51424729595806732542010-03-16T06:20:00.000-07:002010-03-26T06:50:22.243-07:00Carnivore Conservation Research Update<div><div><b><i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Shiba</span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGU0476r476J_xjpIPMJyfvaOq6PZV1gPywrEdNgjJXSsJ9dMt0rtMegfEK0j0_cBEPAvO-qoTY7-eEoZB_S-0PnYXITrKaOmPc_sxsE0mVQTAiSbgC9pYIad9rkSVrVKdzYIjpcdv2tyC/s1600-h/Clip.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449228274642447682" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGU0476r476J_xjpIPMJyfvaOq6PZV1gPywrEdNgjJXSsJ9dMt0rtMegfEK0j0_cBEPAvO-qoTY7-eEoZB_S-0PnYXITrKaOmPc_sxsE0mVQTAiSbgC9pYIad9rkSVrVKdzYIjpcdv2tyC/s200/Clip.jpg" style="cursor: hand; float: left; height: 123px; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; width: 200px;" /></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> Recaptured</span></i></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Last month, the Research Team had to deal with a rather unusual scenario. One of the leopards translocated in early 2009, female Shiba, was captured outside the NamibRand Nature Reserve where she had been released. The farmer involved did not shoot the animal but wanted her removed from his land and handed her over to the reserve’s management who called N/a’an ku sê. Her tracking collar had stopped submitting a signal several months previously so this was a good opportunity to fit her with a new one.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Upon their arrival at NamibRand the volunteers and staff found the leopard female in excellent physical condition, once more showing the success of the release programme. Shiba had survived in the wild for 11 months before she was caught by the farmer.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It was agreed with the reserve that Shiba would again be released on the boundary of Na</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">mibRand and adjacent Namib Naukluft Park, some 150km away from where she was captured.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhNut8W0kiu4yi4suOpgyK-nqK2xh2_-GCZ6uh_-tKKpk4IcMz2Fk_36VAC34WCxTYFLMkjYogNTazO7z1Ur1PcDv7zDqRjWXs_sjlyk7UdvIY6kf6oxGiz5OOgz6O5-9W6m70018SAvy-/s1600-h/Clip_2.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449228407339978962" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhNut8W0kiu4yi4suOpgyK-nqK2xh2_-GCZ6uh_-tKKpk4IcMz2Fk_36VAC34WCxTYFLMkjYogNTazO7z1Ur1PcDv7zDqRjWXs_sjlyk7UdvIY6kf6oxGiz5OOgz6O5-9W6m70018SAvy-/s200/Clip_2.jpg" style="float: left; height: 124px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 10px; margin-top: 0px; width: 200px;" /></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In the sweltering Namib Desert climate the team had their hands full with keeping the leopard’s body temperature at a safe level when Shiba was immobilised late afternoon on 5 February. Her old broken, tracking collar was removed and the new one was fitted. After an hour, the anti-dote was administered and the leopard was left in a safe place near the reserve’s headquarter to recuperate during the night. As the sun set and the team departed from the </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">site, the coalition of 5 male cheetahs that are constantly monitored on the reserve appeared in front of the car, adding to the excitement.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgckzcvN22LqS7ufFaK4krAZejj3PuS7ca88Km1iyGOB_wkg1TNvTh8dbede04iYZJc2li6rmbJD0nLFl-6B0_JvKGZ4oR7_ZshQVifNh_KIO0mjG-adU5aWaoCWsk81KhTxAfl5cKGARb4/s1600-h/Clip_3.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449228587727747058" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgckzcvN22LqS7ufFaK4krAZejj3PuS7ca88Km1iyGOB_wkg1TNvTh8dbede04iYZJc2li6rmbJD0nLFl-6B0_JvKGZ4oR7_ZshQVifNh_KIO0mjG-adU5aWaoCWsk81KhTxAfl5cKGARb4/s200/Clip_3.jpg" style="float: left; height: 200px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 10px; margin-top: 0px; width: 144px;" /></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The team spent a well-deserved but short night relaxing at Aandster, the tracking base for all post-release monitoring, and went to pick up the leopard female early the next morning. The research team gave Shiba a lot of water from a hosepipe to ensure her fitness for the next few days and then drove her to her new release site. After setting the transport box at the foot of a suitable mountain range, the team opened the door from the safety of the car using a rope-pulley system. Shiba did not hesitate for long and ran for freedom once more. Everybody was thrilled at this sight and are delighted to report another safe and successful release.</span><br />
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<b><i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">New cheetah and leopard deterrent</span></i></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In the Windhoek study area, our research team are currently testing the use of lion faeces as a deterrent against cheetahs and leopards preying on young cattle stock. Several cases of livestock predation have occurred in the past few months involving a cheetah mother with 3 cubs as well as an old big leopard male. The team, including some very dedicated and apparently scent-resistant volunteers, dissolves the lion faeces and then paints the stinky liquid onto fence posts around cattle camps.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The assumption is that local carnivores will pick up the strong smell when approaching cattle herds and be deterred by it, believing that are more dominant predator is scent-marking in that particular area. First results look promising as the cheetah female and her cubs immediately moved away from a treated area and no further losses occurred there. It’s certainly an unpleasant job, and we give special thanks to the volunteers that have been involved, but if it gives us an option to safe-guard livestock whilst keeping the carnivores in their natural habitat, then we’ll do it!</span><br />
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<b><i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">C</span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0dKQFReebYWNXJdJG0G9d_AZ5f6rlxXrWiv3yJ7x50bXhwIEmb8P4-gN6341RHYEjMRDYwa69ESGI4FSmDs4hb84dgaeXFTX4hhzoxGfFewYFTkYUotxfuJUFBH-Xo8EudmU_W_AsfmZc/s1600-h/Clip_6.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449229093883026658" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0dKQFReebYWNXJdJG0G9d_AZ5f6rlxXrWiv3yJ7x50bXhwIEmb8P4-gN6341RHYEjMRDYwa69ESGI4FSmDs4hb84dgaeXFTX4hhzoxGfFewYFTkYUotxfuJUFBH-Xo8EudmU_W_AsfmZc/s200/Clip_6.jpg" style="float: left; height: 200px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 10px; margin-top: 0px; width: 132px;" /></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">heetah footprinting initiative</span></i></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Lots of progress has been made on the development of the footprint ID software for cheetahs. The volunteers and researchers recently carried out footprint work with Ayla and the two young cheetah males that came into N/a’an ku sê’s care last year. The young cheetahs prints will be used as reference animals for the initial footprint database required as the basis of the identification software.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A lot of sand carrying, raking, water logging and meat cutting was necessary to lure the youngsters over a pre-prepared sand patch to obtain clear footprints. In total, every animal delivered more than 20 good prints of their left hind feet which were further enhanced on the computer and are now being used towards the database.</span></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuVgueCIBxfKe3PxmwdHfigCScRs_GM92m7r57-vFzereeKEibtmIUs9dpSADY3QVumNvWKdYgxRt2SIPodv-G5qV_cc88Y1gxNJ2wIEIH7TTCj-ifDzIPeDg0vLpgqVef2i_FASbZ1W6n/s1600-h/Clip_4.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449909434932241442" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuVgueCIBxfKe3PxmwdHfigCScRs_GM92m7r57-vFzereeKEibtmIUs9dpSADY3QVumNvWKdYgxRt2SIPodv-G5qV_cc88Y1gxNJ2wIEIH7TTCj-ifDzIPeDg0vLpgqVef2i_FASbZ1W6n/s200/Clip_4.jpg" style="cursor: hand; height: 161px; width: 200px;" /></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAs_aZn1qMAnFY7PjzbaOV8869d2jiwvfpvFR1WeYZcwjn40NiajWSYdPdWNaFuQ8g0Nv4Rrh_SAEd2AmDx1hFnFERWxptOxY7PM3YmgKDzKrfafrrfxcFJ_qecVoE1cLOUkuwXQm6Ttii/s1600-h/Clip_5.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449910932606059314" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAs_aZn1qMAnFY7PjzbaOV8869d2jiwvfpvFR1WeYZcwjn40NiajWSYdPdWNaFuQ8g0Nv4Rrh_SAEd2AmDx1hFnFERWxptOxY7PM3YmgKDzKrfafrrfxcFJ_qecVoE1cLOUkuwXQm6Ttii/s200/Clip_5.jpg" style="cursor: hand; height: 200px; width: 132px;" /></a><br />
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<b><i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Other news</span></i></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Since the start of the year, a good number of game counts have been carried out again. One group of volunteers was particularly lucky to closely encounter the normally extremely secretive aardwolf on N/a’an ku sê. The counting team managed to approach the animal up to 40 meters distance. During the same census, the counters also observed an impressive herd of 14 kudus from very close.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Finally, the NamibRand tracking team has resumed its operations too and volunteers can once again head south and experience the very special monitoring activities whilst enjoying the breath-taking Namib Desert environment. Check out our new Carnivore Conservation Volunteer programme</span></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Naankusehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14789234230703037380noreply@blogger.com0