Graca

Graca the graceful is probably the epitome of what a cheetah should be. With her petite, athletic build, she is fluid of movement and has an air of poise and style which is a stunning embodiment of the dynamics of cheetah motion. She was born at De Wildt and was named in honour of Graca …, the wife of former president Nelson Mandela. As a young cub, Graca accompanied her sister, Mojadji, to Cheetah Outreach in the Cape for her initial ambassadorial training. Today, the siblings are flourishing as ambassadors and are virtually inseparable.

This young feline is definitely not one card short of a deck and has proved to be exceptionally intelligent. Unfortunately the drawback to such a high level of intelligence is that she is perfectly capable of deciding for herself what is and what isn’t acceptable, and is thus extremely stubborn. In fact, her handlers have commented that she is possibly the most stubborn cheetah that they have ever had the “pleasure” of working with. Working with Graca has been likened to working with a hyper active child, trying and tiring because you have to put in a lot of effort to hold her attention.

Although it may be difficult to hold her attention, once you have it she is probably the most focussed cat at De Wildt. This is evidenced when it comes time to chase the lure. Graca has proved to be the fastest cat on the farm and when she’s off after the lure during a run, catching the fleeing plastic creature is the only thing on her mind. She gets so engrossed in the hunt that she attempts to dive head first into the cone at the end of the run track and capture the lure that has come to rest there. As some of the handlers have discovered, stepping on the piece of plastic tape in an attempt to dissuade her from her purpose, namely the disembowelment of the lure, only leads to chewed shoes (and occasionally a toe or two).

This dynamic sprinter is playful and can, at times, be unpredictable. For this reason she is not used in demonstrations that involve touching, or events where children will be present. She does, however, work extremely well when in the presence of her sister, relying heavily on Mojadji’s calming, steady influence. The pair compliment each other wonderfully, especially due to the fact that Graca is a normal coat cheetah, whilst Modjadji is a king. They are ideal for use in the education programme because they provide living, breathing examples of the difference between a king and a normal cheetah. Added to this, the specifics of how the recessive gene comes into play can be better explained because of the fact that the two are siblings.

Fleet of foot and fleet of mind, graceful Graca is a valued member of the ambassadorial team.