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Sunday, August 21, 2011

Very Active at CCF

Apologies, apologies.  It's been almost a quick seven weeks since I filed a field report.  Many circumstances including erratic internet service have hampered my effort to keep you apprised of the activity here at CCF.  Be that as it may, interns, volunteers, distinguished guests and visitors, students, teachers and scores of tourist have been here to work or visit.  CCF has been multitasked, but has answered the call for each occasion.
Many events have occurred since the African Safari 3-D film crew visited.  Recently our dairy goats and Anatolian Shepherds have provided us with new mouths to feed.  The vet clinic has responded with key service.  The cheetah cubs here at CCF Center have graduated from a small cheetah run course to the regular course.  Their progess in adopting and demonstrating their running and pursuing ability is outstanding.  Chester has been successfully operated on to remove a plate inserted in his leg from an old injury.  An attempt to merge Josie and Klein resulted in them refusing to share a pen together.  Kiana and Kayla were moved back to Bellebeno as they did not get along with their pen mates at the Eland camp.  The five cubs who were orphaned earlier this year, two siblings and three siblings, respectively, were merged from their separate pens to contiguous pens last month.  This past week they were merged in the same pen.  They will be monitored closely in the ensuing days, to see if they might adapt to each other.
The 24 kilometer fence line surrounding the large release camp in Bellebeno is being repaired in order to enable several cheetahs to be tested for potential release.  Plans are to introduce two to three groups of cheetahs separately, that is, at intervals into the huge release camp soon.  If these groups of cheetahs pass the 'survival' test, they become prime candidates for release back into the wild.  Wildlife organizations and other countries are seriously interested in having CCF cheetahs released to their care to be placed back in the wild.  This process at CCF in preparation for eventual release will commence soon.  Progress will be reported over the ensuing weeks and months ahead.  This process, is of course an exciting event in the conservation and preservation arena.  After all, our goal at CCF is to release captive cheetahs back into the wild whenever feasible.  And the feasibility for this to occur is very optimistic.  CCF last released cheetahs in February of this year.  They are the 'Chocolates.' Those four females were released to a wild game park in Erindi, Namibia, with recent reports disclosing their successful survival there.
I'll advise more on these potential releases in future postings.  Please tune in to learn of future developments at CCF, and especially about these potential cheetah releases.  I will keep you posted.

Until next,
this is Ron Marks
from Cheetah Land