Wildt Tales, June 2006

Winter has come with a vengeance this year. It is one of the coldest winters we have had in years and all the animals at De Wildt make sure they position themselves in the best sunny spots during the day. We have a newsletter filled with interesting pieces for you. The story on cheetah Dottie is one that affected us all deeply. Enjoy this edition of Wildt Tales.

Mission
“To ensure the long-term survival of predators, specifically the cheetah and wild dog in their natural environment”

To achieve its mission the De Wildt Cheetah and Wildlife Trust has an extensive community outreach and education program and a strategic breeding plan. The Trust conducts research on wildlife disease and nutrition and in South Africa it has implemented a national plan for the conservation of free-roaming cheetah.

Special Birthdays

The De Wildt Cheetah and Wildlife Trust celebrated an important milestone on 30 May, namely the second anniversary of its Outreach Education Programme and the 4th birthday of Chief Ambassador, Cheetah Byron.

Since commencing his duties as Chief Cheetah Ambassador, Byron has visited over 80 schools and has inspired more than 18 000 learners to become environmentally aware.

The Outreach Education Programme gives learners an insight into the importance of conserving our environment and habitats for future generations. Water conservation, anti litter campaigns, the creation of vegetable gardens and the protection of habitat for all creatures, large and small are some of the themes that are covered during the school visits.

The De Wildt Cheetah and Wildlife Trust recognizes that human needs and social challenges have to be embraced if vulnerable and endangered species and habitats are to be conserved, not simply for the enjoyment of man, but for the important role that they play on the planet. It is for this reason that the Outreach Programme is partnering with the South African Police Services in a campaign entitled “Cheetah Against Crime”. A number of schools are to be visited by the De Wildt Education Programme Team and the SAPS to draw attention to crime in general and this will include environmental crimes. They will highlight the fact that conservation is an exciting alternative to a life on the streets, crime and drug abuse.

We wish to extend a special thank you to the programme partners, Ssanyong, the National Lottery and the Miami Metro Zoo.

Birthday celebration at local school

Ambassador cheetah Byron’s birthday was celebrated in style at the Crawford Primary School in Pretoria. The Holiday Inn donated a large birthday cake which the school in turn donated to street children. Byron was given a turkey leg which he scoffed in no time.

A heartbreaking story of cheetah female Dottie

The story of the relocation of female cheetah Dottie and male Danny to Limpopo Reserve, Makulu Makete has been featured in a number of previous newsletters. We were thrilled to report that Dottie had had cubs. They were never seen as she chose to hide them.

The dramatic story of the events that unfolded at Makulu Makete in early April is taken from an excerpt of the Makulu Makete Bush Diary.

“It is almost impossible to write the sad news about our female cheetah, Dottie. Last month we changed Dottie’s radio collar and she was pronounced in excellent health by Dr. Peter Caldwell, Consultant vet to the De Wildt Wild Cheetah Project. Just two weeks later, on 8 April, Jane and Rox were tracking Dottie as usual, hoping to get our first look at the cheetah cubs which were born on 23 February. Dottie’s signal led us to a clearing of long grass about a kilometre from where she had been hiding her cubs. Dottie raised her head out of the grass, then stood up and took a few steps before flopping down again. To our horror, we saw that she was badly injured, with her intestines hanging out from a wound under her belly. We knew that Dottie had been in the same area the previous afternoon. Perhaps she had been injured the day before and had not returned to her cubs overnight. It would have been folly to approach any closer to an injured, wild big cat. Our only option was to call a vet to tranquillise and try and treat her. Our second concern was for the cubs. Dr. Caldwell was contacted and immediately prepared to fly from Pretoria to an old military airstrip near Alldays, about 20 km from Makulu Makete. In the meantime, a search party was organised for the cubs. We knew the area where they were being hidden, about 500 metres from the lodge. All 14 of our staff, including Lucas our chef and the maids from the lodge, were mobilised to methodically comb the bush, 5 metres apart, like a police hunt. On the second sweep of the area, Samuel spotted the four cubs, lying in weeds and long grass where their mother had left them. The cubs were brought back to the lodge and placed in a cardboard box. The founder of the De Wildt Cheetah Project, Ann van Dyk, sent word that she wanted them flown back to Pretoria where they could be stabilised and she could personally look after them.

We had been so looking forward to our first sight of the cubs, but these were not the circumstances we had ever envisaged. The cubs (three males and one female) were just over six weeks old, almost as big as a normal house cat, strong and alert, spitting at us and biting, just as they should. Once in the cardboard box they kept low and quiet until they thought there was no danger, then they sat up, looked around and tried to climb out of the box. They still had their soft, long, baby fur on their backs and tiny spots all over their legs. We were entranced by them and proud of Dottie for bringing up such beautiful, healthy babies. The cubs were taken to the airstrip and sent back in the plane which delivered Dr. Caldwell and his assistant, ready for a long operation to save Dottie. But by the time they got to Dottie it was too late. She was already dead. From the nature of her injuries, Dr. Caldwell’s opinion was that Dottie had been running through long grass, probably chasing prey. She must have run over a sharp tree stump sticking up and concealed in the long grass, which ripped her belly open. This type of incident is not uncommon with cheetahs because of the way they hunt, totally focussed on their prey.

We all know that this sort of incident happens in the wild and that we should not get emotionally attached to any of our animals, but it was impossible for us not to feel that Dottie was actually one of us, part of the team at Makulu Makete. Our distress at her tragic death is hard to imagine. We have been devastated by her loss and still grieve for her. She is buried in the shade of a thorn tree by the lodge waterhole. The one consolation is that her lovely cubs have been saved. Their future is not yet certain. It is hoped that they will be “re-wilded” - a process which is having some success at De Wildt with hand-reared cheetah cubs. We would like to be involved with this process and have the cubs return to Makulu Makete as soon as possible, but strict permitting issues concerning keeping captive cheetahs could prevent us. De Wildt have been supportive and have promised us another female cheetah. Our only hope is that the next cheetah will be as much of a personality as Dottie.

None of this tragedy seems to have affected Danny, the male cheetah and father of the cubs. He has recently extended his range from impenetrable bush in the north of the property and has been seen venturing much closer to the lodge. While not as “laid back” as Dottie, he is nonetheless a magnificent specimen. When his flame-coloured eyes meet yours as he watches you through the bush, it feels as if you are face to face with the essence of Africa.

Kiwi the Anatolian finds a home

The De Wildt Wild Cheetah Project in collaboration with Cheetah Outreach has placed another Anatolian puppy in a new home. The female dog called Kiwi is now living with Steyn Marais on the farm Ultimo in Thabazimbi. Steyn farms with sheep. The farm is situated in one of the core areas where research cheetahs George and Joss are moving. This provides and ideal opportunity to combine our range use research with the Anatolian project. Kiwi was delivered by Kelly accompanied by Lora and Mari two volunteers from Belgium. Steyn had a lovely big wooden kennel ready for Kiwi and had some young lambs in a small kraal where Kiwi will live for the next few weeks.

Leopard relocations

The Wild Cheetah Project has relocated a number of leopards during the past months. These leopards were captured by ranchers in the Limpopo as problem animals and handed over to the Wild Cheetah Project for relocation. The leopards, a female called ZiZi and her two three month old cubs as well as a large male leopard called "Wolf" (he was captured a farm called "Wolwepan" were released onto a game ranch in the Limpopo Province belonging to a leopard friendly farmer and businessman, Mr Jannie Parsons. Both leopards were fitted with Cell phone/GPS collars for easy monitoring.

ZiZi has moved approximately 80 kilometres to the north east of the area since release. She abandoned one cub. This cub was fed daily and after two months she seems to be hunting and surviving on her own. Efforts will be made to recapture her so that a telemetry device could be fitted. IF YOU ARE INTERESTING IN DONATING ONE PLEASE CONTACT VANESSA BOUWER

The male ("Wolf") was released this week and he is still on the property, although it can be expected that he will start roaming soon and establish his own territory. Long term monitoring of these relocated leopards will provide valuable information on the relocation success of leopards captured as problem animals.

Prestigious conservation award from Sasol for Vulture work

Prof Gerry Swan, Dean of the Faculty of Veterinary Science of the University of Pretoria has received the Sasol Vulture Conservationist of the Year Award for 2005. The honour was bestowed upon Prof Swan at a ceremony on 10 April at Sasol’s Head Office in Rosebank.

The esteemed prize, under the joint auspices of the Birds of Prey Working Group of the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) and Sasol, was awarded to Prof Swan for the excellent work done under his leadership at the Onderstepoort Faculty on the impact of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory (NSAIDs) drugs on vultures in Asia and Africa.

During the past two years Prof Swan has been involved in a research project to determine the susceptibility of vultures to various NSAIDs. The research was conducted in collaboration with various organisations, including the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and the Vulture Unit of the De Wildt Cheetah and Wildlife Trust. The research found that African White-backed vultures (Gyps africanus) are equally susceptible to diclofenac, the NSAID that has been responsible for the catastrophic demise of the populations of three species of vultures in South Asia.

Prof Swan has also found that an alternative drug, meloxicam, is safe for vultures and could therefore be used as an alternative to diclofenac in South Asia. His research will not only contribute to the conservation of vultures in South Africa, but also in South Asia.

Apart from the foreign researchers, four South Africans were also part of Prof Swan’s team, among them three researchers from the Faculty of Veterinary Science, Dr Vinny Naidoo, Ms Lizette Bekker and Ms Elmarié Killian, as well as Ms Kerri Wolter of the Vulture Unit of the De Wildt Cheetah and Wildlife Trust.

A good news wild dog story

A pack of wild dogs that escaped from the Kruger National Park in Limpopo Province two years ago have recently found new homes. This is after a two year search for a suitable relocation area. This pack (fondly known as the "Letsitele pack") were captured by a game rancher two years ago after they got into his sable antelope breeding camp. The rancher decided to capture the wild dogs and to put them in an electrified camp, rather than shoot them. More often than not ranchers would shoot the wild dogs on site.

After many months of negotiations with both the Provincial Conservation Authority as well as possible suitable relocation reserves in SA, a home was found for the males of the pack in the Tswalu Kalahari Reserve. The "Letsitele males" will be introduced to unrelated females from the Madikwe Game Reserve before being released onto the Tswalu Kalahari Reserve as part of the South African Wild Dog Meta-Population. The "Letsitele males" moved
to Tswalu with the assistance of Dr Peter Caldwell, Deon Cilliers and Tim Neary. The Endangered Wildlife Trust made crates.

The De Wildt Cheetah and Wildlife Trust played an integral part in the negotiations and in the eventual relocation of these wild dogs. The females have remained in the boma on the rancher's property and will be moved to the Pilansberg National Park in a few months.

The owner of the private game ranch were the pack was held for the two year period, cared and fed the pack at his own costs, without any financial
support from the Provincial Conservation Authority. The De Wildt Cheetah and Wildlife Trust would like to express its gratitude to Edward Vorster and his family for this unselfish contribution.

Adoptions

Welcome to all the new adoptive parents – whose names are listed below.
Your support is vital and ensures top notch care for our animals.

Diamond Level
Christie Galasso x 2
Platinum Level
Mr & Mrs R Turner, Lucy Spray, Marianne Gray & John Reiss, Rick Cottrell,
Gold Level
Dr C Sevenster, Joachim Fischer, Deborah Hicks, Victoria Westhead, Caroline Loughrey,
Silver Level
Nikolaj Str?mann, Charlotte Wordsworth, Val & Janet, John & Jenny van Wyk (x2), Dr Sohail Mushtaq, Sarah Bottom, Colleen Solveig Froysa, Wendy Tassell,
Renewals
Diamond Level
Bernadette Booysen, Peter Koeppel, Paul & Riana Naven, Ulrich Wagner
Platinum
Weinversand: Tokolosh
Gold
Beaulah Bradbury, Jan & Janie Dooms

British Airways comes up trumps

British Airways assisted in flying two female cheetahs from Port Elizabeth to Johannesburg International. The two female cheetah were born from a male and female which we introduced onto the Amakala Game Reserve in the Eastern Cape a few years ago. In order to follow our recommendations in establishing a meta-population of cheetah in these fragmented reserves, it was decided to relocate the two female cheetahs that recently split from their mother. Will van Duyn, proud custodian of the cheetahs at Amakala safely delivered the two cheetahs to the Port Elizabeth airport.

The two female cheetahs are earmarked for reintroduction into Shambala Private Game Reserve near Vaalwater and Thornybush Private Game Reserve near Hoedspruit, both in the Limpopo Province. Both these reserves have already got male cheetahs which were relocated earlier by the De Wildt Wild Cheetah Project.

The first female has been reintroduced into the boma at Shambala. The two eager male cheetahs at Shambala have already become aware of her presence and spend most of their time on the boma perimeter fence ogling at the attractive lady inside. This female cheetah will also be featured in an
article touching on De Wild's conservation efforts in the New York Times. Please find photos of the one female been released into the boma at Shambala.

First birth at De Wildt

On a cold winter night late in May one of our king cheetah females gave birth to cubs. The litter is very valuable as it represents some new lines. The mother is ensconced in her little A- frame grass house which is an excellent sign. Nature Conservationist Gaby Bartells reports that she hears the tiny cubs when she brings food for the family. We purposely do not interfere in any way to ensure the wellbeing of the new cubs.

Thank you Alfie

British Airways / Comair are important partners of the De Wildt Cheetah and Wildlife Trust. Cheetahs and Anatolian Guard dogs are flown free of charge to various locations. Alfie of Express Air Services (a division of Comair) treats all our animals like VIP’s and any unnecessary stress is minimised. On Tuesday British Airways flew two of our ambassador cheetah from Cheetah Outreach to Johannesburg for the De Wildt Shingwedzi Ranch in Limpopo. On the return flight to Cape Town an Anatolian sheep dog puppy was sent back to Cheetah Outreach in preparation to be sent to another farm. Due to Alf Oberholzer all shipments went smoothly and the animals arrived safely.

PAAZAB Conference

The African Association for Zoos and Aquaria held their annual conference hosted by the East London Zoo in Gonubi, East London in the Eastern Cape from 8-12 May 2006. De Wildt, as a captive breeding centre, is an institutional member of PAAZAB and Kelly Marnewick presented a talk entitled: “Determining status and range use of cheetahs outside conservation areas”. A talk on vulture research done at De Wildt was delivered by Dr Paul Bartels and was entitled: “Could meloxicam be the saviour of the Asian whitebacked vulture?” The conference was well attended with 100 delegates attending from all over the world. The organizers went to great lengths to ensure that the delegates had many opportunities to network and to get to know each other with chopper flips over the ocean, a beach party, a trip to the local casino and a spit braai at the East London Zoo. The talks at the conference were very diverse from night safaris at a zoo in UAE to how to train captive dolphins for veterinary checks.

First paper published for wild cheetah project

The first scientific paper originating from the research done by the De Wildt Wild Cheetah Project has been accepted for publication. The paper, a short communication, entitled: Range use of two coalitions of male cheetahs Acinonyx jubatus in the Thabazimbi district, Limpopo province, South Africa” will appear in the next edition of the South African Journal of Wildlife Research.

Fundraising Trip to the USA

Vanessa will be travelling to Reno, Denver, Beverly Hills, California and Santa Rosa. To be part of this interesting tour contact Vanessa on cheetah@dewildt.org.za

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Cheetah@dewildt.org.za
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