At 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.

Watch this video for the whole story:

Camera trap photos

This zebra doesn't know that there is a predator under that rock it is approaching...

Serval release

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. 

Leopard with no tail

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 captured on a farm near Otavi, where farmers had lost a calf and it as bait in the trap to capture the problem leopard. This farmer 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. 

Wild Dog Conservation Initiative

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 in less than 50 breeding units which mostly occur outside of formally protected areas (R. Lines, personal communication; Stander 2003; Woodroffe et al 2004). 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.

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. 

The Release of a Lifetime

Saturday 25^th 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...

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. 

Read on for all the details and photos from the whole week:

The tragic loss of a young female cheetah caught in a snare trap

On 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.

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.

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.

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.