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A
TRIBUTE TO BETTY-BLUE
Betty-Blue,
where are you?
Running through the Elysian Fields I’m sure
Where the grass is green and the sky is blue
Where having your speed back evens the score
 Betty
was one of the most amazing characters ever to come to De Wildt. She
was gentle and sweet but tough and strong too. Even through the most
painful part of her life she always had patience and respect. How could
one not love these qualities? Isn’t it strange how easily people
take love for granted? We never seem to realise how important someone
is to us until they’re gone. I thought that I was going to be
Betty’s guardian forever. I thought that a fire like hers could
never be put out. I was wrong.
Betty got another bone infection
and after yet another amputation was done to save her life, she started
losing hope. Her fire flickered and eventually died. Betty is gone.
Her name is branded on my heart. The scar is fresh and the pain is real
but I will cherish you all my life, girl. I feel honoured to have known
you, to have helped you wherever I could. I wish I could have saved
you but it was not meant to be. Sometimes the hardest thing and the
right thing are the same. You’re better off in that field, Betty.
Catch something and dine in the Hall of Heroes for me because that’s
where you belong. Your story will keep the race against extinction at
a fast pace.
“When
the sun shines we’ll shine together.
Told you I’ll be here forever. Said I’d always be your friend.
Took an oath, I’mma stick it out till the end.
Now that it’s raining more than ever. Know that we’ll still
have each other.
You can stand under my umbrella. You can stand under my umbrella”
Umbrella – Rhianna
Gaby Bartels
GRUMPY
SOGGY CHEETAHS
 After
poor rains last summer and a very long dry winter, we are all thoroughly
grateful for this summer’s plentiful downpours. Not
so the cheetahs! Fur coats may be a great bonus during our cold dry
winters but when it rains they just get soggy and quite frankly must
be a real nuisance! What confuses me is that although every cheetah
on the farm has a nice dry house to shelter in, they still choose to
sit out in the rain, and then have the audacity to glare at you as if
it’s your fault that it’s raining!
Byron, above all absolutely
hates this kind of weather. He actually gave us quite a scare recently.
During a particularly wet and windy week, Marilyn (Byron’s human
mum) was away and Byron quite simply stopped eating. This is never a
good thing for a cheetah and is particularly worrying with Byron who
adores his food! Our vet, Peter Caldwell was immediately called and
could find absolutely nothing wrong with him. The following day, the
sun came out, Marilyn returned and funnily enough Byron decided to stop
sulking and attacked breakfast with gusto!
The Diary
of an Extinct Bird
Phoenix’s First Flying Lesson - 19th January 2008 10:44
Black and white
wings beat against a sun swept sky, as an Egyptian Vulture takes flight.
Regrettably this sight is unknown to most of us, as the Egyptian vulture
is extinct in the South African skies. But imagine the awe and wonder
as staff at De Wildt Cheetah and Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre watched
their young fledgling attempt his first flight. Not the most graceful
effort yet beautiful all the same. More a “fall with style”
than a true flight, the baby looked very sheepish untangling himself
from the assorted branches he mistook for good landing areas. While
this 3 ½ month old chick has much to learn about flying and the
world he lives in, at least we know he has a safe place to call home.
Even as he adapts to his species’ way of life, we wonder if he
has any inkling of the joyous effect his every milestone has on those
around him - if he realises that the marvel of his first flight will
remain etched in the memory of all who witnessed this momentous event.
DE WILDT’S
TEACHER OF THE YEAR 2007
 Last
year the Outreach Education Programme at De Wildt Cheetah and Wildlife
Trust set a challenge to 30 schools in the Ga-Rankuwa area. Thirty educators
were asked to design lesson plans incorporating conservation and more
particularly the cheetah. The lesson plans then had to be presented
by the educators, recorded on DVD and evaluated by the University of
Pretoria.
We ran three workshops which
provided encouragement and guidance to the educators whilst they designed
their lesson plans. To add some excitement to the proceedings, the Outreach
Education Program set out this challenge in the form of a competition,
offering incentives both for the educators and for their schools.
The three finalists were
chosen by the University and invited to our Gala Dinner on December
1st. There was much anticipation in the air when the winners were announced.
The third prize went to Mr. J Masemola from Bodubelo School with his
lesson on cats. A computer for the school was awarded as second prize
to Mrs. H Ntshabele from Bachana School for her grade 1 lesson on the
African cat family. The winner, awarded with a two week educational
trip to the UK, was Mr Joshua Mphete from Thuto Thebe School. He will
be going in June.
Mr. Mphete designed an amazing
series of Mathematics lessons aimed at a grade 8 class. The lessons
began with a DVD showing a cheetah running and students were reminded
that the cheetah is the world’s fastest land mammal, as well as
being a threatened species. A discussion of the cheetah’s running
speed then led smoothly into an introduction to speed in a mathematical
sense, and the formula for speed. The learners then completed worksheets
of mathematical problems, analysed graphs and commented on the cheetah’s
adaptations for speed.
We would like to extend our
sincere congratulations and thanks to all the educators who participated
in this incentive. The entries were so amazing that it was an extraordinarily
difficult task for the University to pick the three finalists, let alone
the winner.
The Outreach Education Program
will be continuing its efforts in the Ga-Rankuwa area during 2008 but
they will also be expanding to schools in the Lehlabile area.
AN UPDATE
FROM LUKE, OUR FIELD OFFICER
 A
while ago I had a call from Petrus van der Walt, the owner of Delta
the Anatolian on Cambridge farm near Alldays. He was concerned about
the dog and her effectiveness in looking after the cattle. He reported
that Delta was working well but that she could not keep up with all
the cattle when they were out in the veldt. We explained that the presence
of the dog near the herd would act as a deterrent in itself and that
even if she couldn’t keep up with all the cattle she could effectively
protect the herd.
After the December holidays,
I visited the farm to assess Delta’s condition and her integration
into the herd. I found her amongst the herd near the access road to
the farm. She has grown extremely fast and seems to be well integrated.
Petrus is extremely happy with Delta and reports that without any training
she has started to herd the animals in order to effectively protect
them all. She now keeps the cattle in a very tight group and spends
the entire day with them out in the veldt. This is a great result and
is better than we could have hoped for. It was never expected that the
dogs would herd the cattle together and it proves once again what an
effective solution Anatolians can be to the ongoing conflict that occurs
on farms.
On the cheetah front, a female
and her cubs were released back onto the farm just outside of Ellisras
where they were originally caught. The family were sedated then woken
up simultaneously in order to keep them together long enough for us
to withdraw and also to prevent them running off in different directions.
The female has been fitted with a GPS-cell and VHF collar and will be
closely monitored by the team. To date she has moved a great deal and
was last located east of the Ellisras power station and mine, a substantial
distance from her release point.
In November De Wildt, as
members of the South African Leopard Forum, initiated a local meeting
that was held in Lajuma in the Soutpansberg. The purpose of this meeting
was to set up a local leopard forum to deal with leopard management
and conservation issues in the area. The meeting went extremely well
and Professor Ian Granger from Lajuma was elected as chairman. The next
step is the organisation of a workshop that will involve all stakeholders
in the area. The boundaries of the forum are from the Soutpansberg to
the Limpopo River. The forum should be a great way of getting our work
on leopard and cheetah to be more visible and therefore more effective
in the area.
A SNIPPET
FROM THE DE WILDT CHEETAH LODGE
 Warm
hearted greetings from the De Wildt Cheetah Lodge.
The gardens are lush and incredibly green. We had a lovely surprise
late in January when the spring up in the Magaliesberg kloof above the
chapel suddenly started to flow, waterfalls and all. The water is sweet
and clear as only spring water could be.
With all the recent rain the weeds at the lodge gate have been doing
their best to outgrow the veldt grasses and flowers. Willing workers
from the lodge spent several hours doing battle with the weeds and things
are looking so much better.
Sebastiaan the Dalmatian has joined our menagerie of animals. He is
beautiful with one blue eye and one brown eye. He is friendly too, and
greets all our guests with a smile and a wagging tail.
I am happy to announce that Petro has joined the lodge ranks as my assistant
and has taken a lot of pressure off me.
Elouise Stahr
INTRODUCING
ONE OF OUR NEW STUDENTS
“First impressions
last forever” and “You only get one chance at a first impression”
are two phrases that come to mind when trying to find the correct words
to describe the De Wildt Cheetah and Wildlife Centre. Both phrases ring
true when I think back to my first glimpse of De Wildt back in 1995
when I first visited on a Grade 2 school tour.
Now 13 years later I find myself, as a student in Nature Conservation,
spending my practical year working at De Wildt – the place where
it all started and a small flame was lit which is now a burning passion
for conservation.
I can only hope that I have the honour of paying it forward and lighting
that flame in another heart.
Elzet Human
FASCINATING
FACTS – The African Wild Cat
 •
African wild cats (Felis lybica) are small fierce cats that live in
the forests, savannah and brush lands of Africa and the Middle East.
• It is widely believed that the domestic cat is descended from
African wild cats tamed by the Egyptians about 4,000 years ago.
• Wild cats are slightly larger than domestic cats with short
fur ranging in colour from sandy brown to yellow grey with black stripes
on their tails. Their legs are longer and their tails shorter. Other
than that they look much like a domestic tabby cat.
• Much of the African wild cat’s habits mirror those of
our cats at home – they stalk their prey before pouncing on it;
they wash their faces with their forepaws; sharpen their claws on tree
trunks and make similar hissing, spitting and mewing sounds.
• Generally nocturnal, they will hunt during the day during very
cold weather. Predators and carnivores, they feed mainly on rodents,
other small mammals, birds, frogs, reptiles and even insects.
• Females give birth to an average of three kittens after a gestation
period of 65 days. Young are generally born in the warm months between
September and March.
• The African wild cat is generally a solitary animal except for
when mating and raising young. Both males and females are territorial
and will defend their terrain rigorously.
• Young cats are preyed on by a wide variety of larger predators
such as raptors, foxes, wolves and other cats. Nonetheless, African
wild cats are ferocious when threatened and will go up against much
larger animals.
• The greatest threat to the African wild cat is actually interbreeding
with normal domestic cats. This has diluted its genetic stock and pure
African wild cats are now only found in very remote areas. Habitat destruction
has also played a role in their decline.
We currently have
a small group of African wild cats both here at the De Wildt Cheetah
and Wildlife Centre, and at Shingwedzi Wildlife Ranch. Should any of
our readers be interested in adopting one of these amazing felines,
we would absolutely love to hear from you.
FROM THE
ADOPTIONS DESK
A huge cheetah
welcome to all our new and returning parents. The adoption program continues
to expand and we are so staggered by the number of people from all over
the world that have such a passion for our animals.
Especially heartening are those adoptive parents who have taken up the
challenge of caring for their wild children in the long term, renewing
their adoptions year after year. Long-standing parents – we thank
you more than ever for your enthusiasm and dedication to these amazing
creatures. You really are making a difference!
New Parents
Diamond Level
Sarah Murphy & Julian Kinghorn, Sara Hornby Anderson, Linda McGouran,
Aletta Mulder
Platinum Level
Barry & Darryl Simon, Norma Nicholson, Jenny Roy, Janse van Rensburg
Gold Level
Tatjana Schaefer, Kris Parker, Marina Georgiou, Tighe Maxwell-Whitely,
Martin Seymour, Colton Thiele, Terry & Julie Hone,, Kay & Julie
Worthington, Kimberly Crawford, Willie & Mary-Ann du Plessis, The
Cottino Family x2, Chloe Ghent, Daniel Guy Moda, Leigh-Ann Newton, Jasnic,
Cheryl & John Baggaley, Shane Grobler
Silver Level
Thia and Pieter van der Westhuizen, In Memory of Val Lang, David John
Flower, Romey Laubscher, Mary Elsea & Stephen Mills, Curves Harties,
Bradley Ford, Jason Ford, Natalie Langman, Lucy Chilton, Cory Price,
John Cobby, Elise Havenga x10, Niall Pollinger, Kristine Bardsen, Geoff
Russell, Lydia Jaworski, Samantha Graham, Sampath Kumar, Claire Lemaire-Smith,
Jenny O’Loughlin, Carol Cooke
Renewals
Diamond Level
Bridget Green & Gavin Ceprnich, Carol & James Bryant, Evelyn
Gantert, Nicolette Ramshaw
Platinum
Louise & Manie Viljoen, Rosemary Strachan, Thane Duff
Gold
Hengelene Botha, Giorgio Cocomello, Joan & Jim Nixon, Norma Nicholson
x2, Dot Rosebery, Lin Mogg, Frans Kruger, Mortimer & Laura Hill,
Helen Dyball, Evelyn Gantert x3, Maureen Mackay
Silver
Elvia Sutherland, Laura Bruinette, Olive Rogers, Diane Stack, Shirley
Lee, Roosemarie Fransiska Strydom, Lauren McGinley, Thia & Pieter
van der Westhuizen, Elrena Stone, Ivor Stack, Bryan & Eloïse
Pietersma
VANESSA
VISITS THE UK
Executive Director
Vanessa Bezuidenhout has just taken off for the UK where she will be
spreading the De Wildt conservation message, and will hopefully raise
sorely needed funds for the centre and more expressly for our Wild Cheetah
Project.
Her rather hectic itinerary
is based mainly around London and its surroundings. She will be doing
school seminars at both Wycombe Abbey and Eton, as well as a number
of private charity events and presentations.
Notable events include:
• 14h30 presentation
at the Zoological Society on February 19th (Contact number 020 749 6668)
• 19h30 presentation at the Winding Wheel in Chesterfield on 20
February (Contact number 016 295 5851)
• Charity Dinner at the Hitchcock Hotel in Leytonstone, East London
on 21 February (Contact number 0785 212 3173)
• Appearance at the Open Weekend at the Pollyanna Pickering Art
Gallery in Derbyshire on 23/24 February (Contact number 0162 953 4302)
Vanessa will also be presenting
talks to IAMS, long term supporters and sponsors of the De Wildt Cheetah
and Wildlife Trust.
Should
you wish to be on our newsletter list please contact us:
Cheetah@dewildt.org.za
We'd love to hear from you!!
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