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VANESSA
TIES THE KNOT
 Saturday
26th May saw much excitement at the De Wildt Cheetah Lodge as our Executive
Director Vanessa Bouwer, married her fiancé Johnny Bezuidenhout
under African skies. Of course Byron was present at the occasion and
took his responsibilities as ring bearer very seriously indeed.
We are sure that you will all join
us in wishing the couple a long and happy life together.
AMBASSADOR
BIRTHDAYS
 Byron
our first ever cheetah ambassador celebrated his 5th birthday in true
style on May 31st. He happened to be visiting a school in Soweto on
the big day and they made a huge effort to make his day special. The
whole school enjoyed delicious cakes but funnily enough Byron was rather
more interested in his meaty treats!
De Wildt Cheetah and Wildlife Trust has trained a total of six cheetah
ambassadors to create environmental awareness and community development
through education and touching experiences. Shaka is one of these ambassadors
and is the only king cheetah amongst them. He is extraordinarily calm
and very gentle– so much so that I think that if he had to hunt
for himself he would very likely feel pity for his prey. We are bonded
to such an extent that we can’t pass one another without touching
or him licking me. He also celebrated his fourth birthday on June 7th
along with his sister Graca, a king gene carrier and another of our
ambassadors. Shaka doesn’t run very well in our Tuesday and Friday
cheetah runs, but he is the most affectionate animal and I have the
deepest respect for him. He actually got me into trouble the other day
when my girlfriend called me and I told her that I couldn’t speak
to her as I was spending time with Shaka! You can meet Shaka after tours
when he and I provide the opportunity for photographs to be taken with
him.
Amos Letsoalo
A FAREWELL
TO INDIA
 Written
by Gaby Bartels. A connection was made towards the end of 2004.
Once this connection happened, a relationship began. With every passing
moment this relationship grew stronger. Many hardships were overcome
using each other to lean on. All the odds were beaten. An understanding
was reached. Many compromises were made but the end result was something
amazing.
India the king cheetah was
never meant to be at De Wildt for long. We had set ourselves the weighty
task of training two cheetah cubs at De Wildt to alleviate the pressure
on Cheetah Outreach and to gain our own experience in this field. Their
life mission would then be to become Ambassadors for their wild brothers
in an Australian based education program.
India and his sister Juliet
were sent to Cheetah Outreach in the Cape for hand rearing and returned
when they were three months old. Both cubs were pretty wary of people
for the first week: hissing and spitting at us all and turning their
backs on us whenever we entered their enclosure. We weren’t too
sure how to tackle this problem, thinking that they were in a new environment
and just needed to settle down.
By the second week of being
back home Juliet had settled down very nicely and was responding to
us well. India acted the way he usually did – hissed, spat and
then went to the furthest corner of his enclosure where he’d turn
his back on us. This started becoming a bit of a problem by the third
week. I can’t say that he came right instantly but by the end
of the first month home something changed.
The connection was made when
we both realised that we understood each other. The relationship began
when we both realised that we needed each other. I have never seen a
cheetah with such sad wise eyes – eyes that could suck you in
forever. Our training consisted of six sessions a day and by the end
of two more weeks we had reached amazing heights. India walked on a
lead, sat or lay down on command, jumped up on things and dealt with
the public very well. What a cheetah!
Unfortunately Juliet died
two days before their shipment date. We couldn’t send India alone
so we decided to keep him in our own Ambassador program until the time
came when someone else needed a king ambassador. He thrived while he
was here and touched many hearts – none more so than mine. We
have had a very happy two years together but sadly for me, India is
needed to spread his beautiful genes in Saudi Arabia. I feel as though
I have lost my best friend but try to counter this with the fact that
Saudi Arabia has been blesses with a beautiful, beautiful animal –
inside and out.
“I miss
you, body and soul so strong that it takes my breath away
And I breathe you into my heart and pray for the strength to stand today
Cause I love you, whether is wrong or right and though I can’t
be with you tonight
You know my heart is by your side” – Daniel Beddingfield
NTOMBI
 In
Zulu Ntombi means girl, but here at De Wildt it stands for strength
and the will to survive. Ntombi is a female cheetah who was released
on a farm in KwaZulu Natal. She is such a special and strong hearted
cheetah and shortly after her release managed to breed and have three
cubs. Unfortunately at this point humans with neither understanding
of nor respect for nature stepped into the picture.
Ntombi lost her first cub to a snare but she bravely continued to protect
the remainder of her litter. Then tragedy struck again and only the
sad remains of her second cub were found. We are not absolutely sure
what happened next but Ntombi was found shot in the neck and her last
remaining cub was found dead.
Miraculously and thanks largely to the expert care of our vet Dr. Peter
Caldwell, Ntombi survived her terrible injury and she is now in rehabilitation
at De Wildt. Due to the bullet she has lost some of the balance and
coordination in her right side but her prognosis is very encouraging
and we can see a definite improvement from day to day. Ntombi has once
more developed a healthy appetite – almost as big as her appetite
for life!
An animal like Ntombi, who has been through so much and yet still gets
up and battles on, is a true inspiration to all employees at De Wildt
and we think that she should be an inspiration to the rest of the world
too.
Rezelle Klynsmith
SASOL’S
ROLE IN THE WILD DOG PROGRAM
 During
the past thirteen years the relationship between De Wildt Cheetah and
Wildlife Trust and Sasol has allowed us to achieve significant success
with our wild dog breeding program.
The first donation of over R100,000 back in 1994 enabled us to build
the Sasol wild dog camp and Den. It is estimated that an average of
25,000 people per year pass through the Sasol camp where the guides
spend time with the pack and give visitors a full briefing of how Sasol
have enabled us to release dogs, to conduct valuable research and to
maintain separate breeding lines. These informative tours have also
done a great deal to dispel the myths that portray the African wild
dog as a mindless and cruel killer. The Sasol den of course enabled
the world’s first ever filming of the birth of wild dog pups –
an event of which we are very proud.
In July 1995 we were able to carry out our first wild dog release at
Madikwe using a combined pack of three females from the Sasol pack and
three wild caught males from the Kruger. The release was a great success
until the pack was tragically decimated by a breakout of rabies. Sasol
continued to offer their support through this difficult time and went
one step further in helping us to research an oral rabies vaccine.
Further donations over the years have enabled us to build breeding camps;
new quarantine camps for the isolation of wild caught dogs and a school
camp where visiting children can view a family of wild dogs. Sasol have
also assisted in the upkeep and upgrading of existing wild dog camps.
Additionally Sasol have continued to support various research projects
and many more successful wild dog releases.
Over the years, Sasol’s commitment to the De Wildt wild dog project
has made a tremendous impact. In fact Sasol has become a valued partner
in our bid to breed rare and endangered animals. This partnership has
had a major impact on the status of the wild dog in South Africa. Whilst
numbers continue to dwindle in the wild, De Wildt with Sasol’s
assistance has managed to maintain no less that eight viable breeding
lines and therefore the potential to restock depleted areas all over
Africa in years to come.
Our heartfelt thanks to all those from Sasol who have made this special
relationship possible and long may this partnership flourish.
Claudine Young
RUEBEN
 A
lone vulture soars across the empty skies, a relic from days gone by
- days when vultures filled the heavens, scavenging food from bloody
battlefields and earning their status as messengers of doom. But those
days are long gone, as vultures have slowly disappeared from our azure
skies, through our own interference. These vultures are hunted for use
in horrendous rituals, electrocuted by power lines and poisoned, all
of which has lead to them becoming a rare and endangered species.
These amazing birds serve as natures clean up crew; and have the dedication
to sit on eggs for 54 days, only to have their chicks destroyed by careless
humans. De Wildt works tirelessly to try to undo the damage these species
have already suffered.
As part of De Wildt’s raptor team, I work closely with these wonderful
creatures, whose beauty is so often missed, and have discovered that
each is unique with its own character traits.
Some are even comedians, for example my good friend Reuben. I first
met Reuben when I visited De Wildt a few years ago, when he attempted
to eat my brand new shoelaces through his enclosure fencing. 10-year-old
Reuben was born and raised in captivity, where De Wildt has saved him
from the gruesome end that many of his wild comrades meet. Reuben is
a Cape Griffin Vulture who loves to steal keys, hats and cameras, and
most of all loves bathing. To meet Reuben and his friends and to check
out his kleptomaniac abilities visit him at De Wildt Cheetah Wildlife
and Research Centre.
Information supplied by Alister Kemp, Written by Michelle Kemp
MISSION
UN-PECKABLE
 On
the 23rd of May I had my first ever experience of capturing a vulture.
In the freezing cold, wearing thick gloves and a borrowed cap, I was
ready for action.
The purpose of this exercise was mainly for identification purposes.
The vet drew blood from each vulture in order to keep records of DNA.
We also took note of ring and wing tag numbers where present, to check
whether the information correlated with the data that we already have.
On this occasion, we were dealing with two species the White Backed
Vulture (Gyps africanus) and the Cape Vulture (Gyps coprotheres). The
White Backed Vulture is smaller and pale brown in colour with a white
back, small head and long bare neck. It also tends to be the more aggressive
of the two. The Cape Vulture is relatively larger and pale cream in
colour with yellow eyes and a thick neck which often appears blue.
The briefing was a little frightening – I was warned that vultures
will try to defend themselves by going straight for your eyes, hence
the necessity of wearing a cap so that they would bite the peak of the
cap instead.
Unlike raptors, vultures do not have very sharp talons so you must concentrate
on their beak to avoid injuries. The most effective way to catch a vulture
is to sneak up behind it, distract it with one hand and grab the back
of its head with your other hand. A firm grip is necessary but not too
hard or you can suffocate the bird. Whilst holding the vulture’s
head you must then try to manoeuvre the bird under your arm, holding
its feet with your other hand and pressing its back against your stomach.
This is not any easy feat with such a large bird and it took all of
my strength to hold on long enough for the vet to carry out his work.
At the end of this delicate and exciting operation, I have learnt that
there is far more to vultures than just a nasty big beak and a rather
repulsive habit of vomiting under stress. Now that I know how to catch
and handle vultures I am thoroughly looking forward to the next time
that we need to catch our feathery friends.
Dorette Pretorius
NO BYRON,
NO ENTRY
 On
Friday 4th May, the Wild Cheetah Project and Outreach Education Department
teamed up and headed up to Thabazimbi with Byron to visit the Mount
Hope School.
This is a very small farm school right in the heart of the Wild Cheetah
Projects core study area, where the children and their parents live
and work in cheetah country. The school is also on a road that leads
up to one of the projects camera trapping sites. Consequently I drive
the road on a regular basis and often give the children and their bicycles
lifts to the farm where the camera traps are set.
One day the teacher, David, flagged me down for a lift but this time
there were no bicycles. David explained that the bikes had been donated
by a government department and were now in need of repair before they
could be ridden again. Lack of spare parts now meant that the children
had to now walk several kilometres to and from school on a daily basis.
I immediately approached Vanessa and Deon who were keen for De Wildt
to help out, so spares were ordered from the local bike shop and I approached
Outreach Education about joining us to deliver their message along with
the spare parts.
Byron was charged with delivering the spare parts on behalf of himself
and his wild cheetah friends. Upon arrival at the school there was a
signboard on the gate saying “No Byron, No Entry” –
lucky we had Byron with us! Amos gave the children a refresher lesson
as he had visited the school previously. The children were, as usual,
glued to Amos who is an excellent educator and Byron of course worked
his magic. We were also joined by a group of labourers from neighbouring
farms, one of whom had seen a wild cheetah very recently.
The school was given a Cheetah Tracker bin for their litter as well
as several teaching aids and instructions on how to start a vegetable
garden. All in all everyone enjoyed the day and it was very rewarding
to be able to make a difference in a few lives. We are inclined to take
so much for granted, like transport! We forget how privileged we are
to just climb into our cars to go somewhere or to open our fridges and
take out a snack!
Kelly Marnewick
NEW BOOK
ALMOST READY
 Ann
van Dyk has been very busy these past months working on the brand new
revised edition of her wonderful book “The Cheetahs of De Wildt”.
This is a fascinating, sometimes brutally honest account of the development
of the De Wildt Cheetah and Wildlife Trust from its humble but dedicated
beginnings right up to the recent launch of the De Wildt Cheetah Tracker.
Complimented by breathtaking
photographs, the story provides an amazing insight into the tough yet
rewarding path of wildlife conservation. The stories are sad enough
to make you cry and sometimes funny enough to make you laugh out loud.
Most of all Anne’s dedication and passion for all living creatures
is palpable in every paragraph.
The book should be available
within the next month or so. If you are interested in ordering a copy
please contact Zeta at cheetah@dewildt.org.za
THANK YOU
ELECTROLUX
We would like to
take this opportunity to express our sincere gratitude to Electrolux
for their generous donation of appliances to the De Wildt Cheetah and
Wildlife Trust. On the 8th June we received a delivery of three ovens,
two ceramic hobs, one dishwasher, two microwaves and a combination refrigerator.
These devices will serve to upgrade equipment in both our student and
our volunteer houses, making life a lot easier for our hard working
helpers.
Electrolux is one of the
oldest and most respected international appliance manufacturers in the
world. They are a global leader in the production of kitchen and cleaning
equipment both for home and industrial use.
One cannot overemphasise
the importance of support from companies such as Electrolux who are
always willing to support their community and donate to worthy causes.
Thank you.
PLAYING
CHEETAH MUM
As a new member
of the De Wildt Team, it was a great honour to be asked to look after
two cheetah cubs at the Old Chapel Veterinary Clinic. The cubs had to
be taken from their mother here at De Wildt after one of them developed
an eye infection. The fact that her mother then started licking the
eye did more harm than good and the decision was made to remove the
cubs as their mother would eventually lose interest in the weaker cub.
At first, it was extremely exciting but as the big day approached, excitement
turned into anxiety as thoughts of what could go wrong ran through my
mind. The lives of these cubs would literally be in my hands –
I had to be their substitute mother!
I quickly had to learn how to feed these two very cuddly but rather
hyperactive cubs. The clinic was very busy and Janel the veterinary
nurse had work of her own to do so I soon realised that it was down
to me. Mixing the milk was the easy part – one part Esbilac milk
powder to two parts water, warmed up in a cup of boiling water. The
tricky part was to actually get the cubs to take the milk. I had to
calm them down first with stroking and cuddling, and as soon as they
were relaxed they would start to feed. Patience was most definitely
required. Then after feeding the real trouble started! I had to take
cotton wool and rub their bottom with it to stimulate them to urinate
and defecate. Not an easy feat with two very wriggly cubs but fortunately
I soon got the hang of it. In a natural environment, their mother licks
their bottoms in order to achieve the same effect, and after a few weeks
the cubs will be able to urinate and defecate on their own. This is
a good sign as it indicates their progress.
This whole process had to be repeated every two hours until 19h30 on
the Saturday evening and then began again with the first feed of the
day at 05h00 Sunday morning. I also had to keep written records of feeding
times, amounts consumed and whether the cubs had successfully defecated
and urinated.
By Sunday morning each cub had gained 100 grams in weight and I felt
so proud of them, just like a real cheetah mum!
Cornelia Dippenaar
DE WILDT
– THROUGH THE EYES OF A VOLUNTEER
 I’ve
now been working as a volunteer at De Wildt for just over a week and
I can safely say that the experience has been completely unique and
one which I will never forget. I come from the UK and the most contact
I’d had with wildlife was looking at a few animals in a zoo. So
when, on my first day I had been metres away from a brown hyena, watched
wild dogs yelping and jumping around and stroked a purring king cheetah
sprawled out on a table in front of me, you can imagine that I was fairly
blown away!
Of course it hasn’t
all been sitting around watching fascinating animals. From day one I
was put hard to work, helping with the maintenance of the place, which
for a 200 hectare reserve, is quite a big job.
Since then my painting skills
have been put to the test, I’ve learnt to drive on some of the
world’s worst dirt tracks and I’ve helped with the feeding
of around 200 animals that live here. Although this may not sound like
most peoples idea of fun I have loved every minute and that’s
mainly down to the incredible atmosphere among the staff here. I have
never met a group of people more dedicated to such a worthy cause, and
this common link between everyone who works here makes even the most
tedious job feel worthwhile.
One of the many lessons I’ve
learnt here is that humans in general are failing miserably in their
duty to protect the earth and the creatures that live here. There are
many animals here that have been maimed or injured, either directly
or indirectly by humans. However, watching many of the devoted staff
here looking after these animals has restored my faith in the ability
of mankind to display selflessness in protecting the many wonderful
creatures on our planet.
Of course places like De
Wildt are oases in a desert of ignorance, which is why the initiatives
in place here to educate people are so important. It has been a privilege
to work with such committed people and I hope that the good work that
they are doing continues for many years to come.
Peter McCann
This poem was written
by 17 year old Isaac Shai – a Grade 11 student at Modiri High
School in Ga-Rankuwa. He also read it beautifully at the launch of the
De Wildt Cheetah Tracker.
HAVE YOU
SEEN THE SPOTTED CHEETAH?
Mountains high,
valleys low
Rivers deep, oceans spread out
The forest lies green and quiet
I searched high and low, beneath
Every tree I couldn’t find one
Maybe it has sprinted
out.
Its spots are fading away, fading into the wild
The tear marks created by an abrupt tear
Of extinction
It’s been
awhile since I’ve seen a cheetah
Run free, Run free into the distance
Run at the top of its speed, at the top of
its game
Then I went to De
Wildt whereby
I found a cheetah, not just any cheetah
But a spotted cheetah who is running away
From extinction running into the distance
Running at the top of its speed at the top of
its game
Shhhh! Listen attentively,
was that a purr
Stop and listen to the sound deep within a
Cheetah, it cannot roar as loud as a lion
Or rather bark like a dog, but it can sure
As hell be the most attractive animal and
Most definitely the fastest
Run! Run free the
open road lies ahead!
To the Cheetah!
FROM THE
ADOPTIONS DESK
The adoption program continues
to grow and our sincere gratitude once again goes out to all our wonderful
parents both new and long term.
The arrival of seven wild dog pups has caused much excitement. They
are just starting to come out of the den on a regular basis and are
absolutely beautiful. Their mum Malaika and dad Kevin are still extremely
protective of their babies but hopefully we should be able to photograph
them soon and I would love to hear from anyone interested in adopting
one of these gorgeous little characters.
New Parents
Diamond Level
2007 Cheetah KG2 Group – Redhill School, Jack Hock, Ed Koss, Form
Three 2007 – Rathgar Junior School, Yvonne Reed, John Cantrill,
Anel and Andy Kilchherr, Ivan Fenyves, The Lewis Family, Marsha Duemke,
James and Carol Bryant, Fernando and Luisa Bandeira, Stef and Irene
Stevense, The IQ Business Group
Platinum Level
2006-2007 Students of grades 3, 4&5, Anabel Ferreira, Yvonne Reed,
Anne Gélénine, Ferenc and Andrea Benda and Children, Connect
Direct, Deelesh
Gold Level
2006-2007 Students of grades 3, 4&5, Jack Sibley, Storm van der
Merwe, Alta le Roux, Emil Geyer, André and Christine Cronje,
Susan Dragieff, Ian, Donna and William Cooper, Heather Power x4
Silver Level
2006-2007 Students of grades 3, 4&5, Thia and Pieter van der Westhuizen
x2, David Hancock, Rosemary Hancock, Anthony and George Ioannou, Andra
Bismanis, Marissa Yates, Darren Yates, Jeannine and Roland Beaufort,
JJ and Erich Herbst, Nicola Galloway, Jade Lundin, Jared Corry x2, Kyley
Jordan Barrow
Renewals
Diamond Level
Bernadette Booysen, Da Vinci Holdings (Pty) Ltd, Da Vinci Institute
for Technology Management
Platinum
Marla and Dave Hummel, Rick Cottrell
Gold
Yolande Steel
Silver
Melissa Sanderson
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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