Beautiful, natural CHEETAHS need support

I recently visited the Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF) headquarters in Otjiwarongo in Namibia.  If you plan to visit southern Africa, you MUST visit CCF.  They have great (3-4 star) accommodation for you to plan an overnight stay to learn about conservation efforts for this graceful, gorgeous animal.

Go to cheetah.org/news-blog/videos and visit their 'contact us' page to get more details.  Watch those amazing (and short) videos about these magnificent, yet endangered animals.

I had no idea that rich people in the Middle East are keeping cheetahs as pets, fueling the international illicit trade and mistreatment of these fantastic and increasingly under-threat animals.  having a cheetah on a leash is some sort of status symbol, like a fancy car or top of the line cellphone.  This is horrible for the cheetahs who need large ranges to run free and it must be discouraged.

Of course, human/wildlife conflict issues abound locally in the natural habitat of the cheetah as farmers, quite normally, are protective of their livestock and do not like any wild predator.  Each animal lost is a net cash set back for a farmer.  We must work HARD and consistently to find solutions that work for the farmers and the cheetah.  CCF is doing something about educating farmers and offering alternatives to protect livestock.  Go to their website and learn what they are doing.

Read more about this amazing organization and find a way to support their work. VISIT NAMIBIA and do your part to support conservation and wildlife, by visiting CCF, contributing to their work in any way that you can (even if you cannot come in person), AND repeating their message of care and concern for the wild cheetah population left in the world!  Only 7,500 of these animals exist on that planet (more than 50% are in southern Africa) and that number is under threat.

DO something about it, get involved in any way that you can.

Here are some of my amateurish photos taken during my visit.  These are shots of beautiful cheetahs who must now live at CCF as they were rescued from terrible situations when they were very young.  In some cases, their mothers were killed and they were hand-raised at the CCF.  Others were rescued from horrific 'pet' situations.  They receive proper medical care, food, love, and fitness training every single day.  They are ambassadors for their species to help educate the streams of young people and tourists that flock to CCF for Cheetah and animal conservation lessons!

Sadly, the cheetahs living at the Center can never live in the wild.  But, CCF has many cheetahs who were wounded, captured on farmlands or rescued in some way and are able to be rehomed back in the wild and that is a good thing!

CCF's videos and photos are much better.  I am more of a writer than a photographer as you can tell!

If you go there, please tell them JACKIE sent you!