Search This Blog

Sunday, April 10, 2011

Have begun Adventure at the Cheetah Conservation Fund in Namibia

I arrived on April 5, 2011.  It happened to be the middle of the "boxing" season.  This means that every year at CCF all Cheetahs in captivity who require exams are brought in to the vet clinic.  I have been involved with this process since my arrival.  The cat is captured in a transporting box and returned to the clinic.  Once the exam is finished, the cat is returned to its original pen.  Most of the pens are located about 37 kilometers from HQ.  Most of the cheetahs are cooperative, but some resist vehemently.  Most pickups and returns require at least four staff/volunteers.  The difficult cats will fight being put in a box.  Getting the cats into a box requires precision timing and close coordination among the boxing team.  The process usually entails coaxing or forcing a the cheetah into the box after passing through a series of guilotines (sp).  Thus far CCF has examined over thirty cheetahs and will complete the annual affair tomorrow, 4/11.

Until next from here in "Cheetah Land,"
Ron Marks

No comments:

Post a Comment