Conservation Research Team update - Sept 10

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:

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.

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 Namibia! He was transferred back to N/a’an ku se but has now been successfully re-released again.  

Watch the cheetah release video

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!

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. 

Watch the Brown Hyena video

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.