It was a huge treat when our grandchildren, Damita and Jordi, came for a
week-long visit during their school holidays at the river cottage. We were on
the go all the time and we visited a number of places in the area, but one of
the most special was the Ann van Dyk Cheetah Farm at De Wildt.
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| The magnificent cheetah |
It was certainly my first close interaction with cheetahs
and we found the visit immensely enriching; I bought her book and read through
her story in record time. What an unbelievably useful and purpose-driven life
she has had! Through her passion and hard work she has built up the cheetah
center and has saved the cheetah from imminent extinction. Many people shared her passion and offered time, money and/or resources to contribute to this
worthwhile cause. She is one of those people who will always be remembered. Her
argument has been that this graceful felid, the fastest mammal on earth, has
evolved and survived on our planet for millions of years and reminds us to think
back about who were the companions of emperors, maharajas and pharaohs, yet the species is now threatened.
We had a chance to learn more about the cheetah, wild dogs, honey
badgers, vultures, caracals and even the Anatolian shepherd dog, which are all either bred or housed after injuries. We were
fortunate to be allowed into a cheetah’s enclosure and could touch a King Cheetah after
his handler calmed him down – what an experience!
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| Inside the King Cheetah's enclosure - touching him. No touching of the face or around the tail as it upsets him! |
Ann and her late brother Godfrey were given the farm of
their deceased parents and by chance landed with two cheetah cubs. This started
a new era for them where they worked together with the Pretoria Zoo and entered
into an agreement whereby they made part of their land available for a period
of fifteen years for the breeding of cheetahs in captivity, something not tried
before. At that stage the cheetah faced extinction and very little, if any,
research and data were available. Through years of hard work, observation and
trial and error they, together with many volunteers and donors, built up
wonderful experience, knowledge and a data base of how to breed cheetahs in
captivity. There were happy times and many sad ones – often caused by callous
actions of some farmers who cruelly harmed them because of stock loss. After
the Pretoria Zoo withdrew from the project, many others made it possible for
her to continue with her dream.
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| What beautiful animals |
At the end of her book Ann asks the question whether we can
merely ignore the cheetah’s history and allow it to become a museum piece or a
painting on the wall. According to her this present generation has to decide
whether cheetahs, wild or captive-born, should survive or die. She reminds us
that we are the custodians of the wild and each one of us should play a part in
ensuring its future. This species has to adjust to living in the 21st
century and its survival will depend on its acceptance of a controlled
environment and restricted habitat in a tourist-orientated land. She finally
ends by saying the cheetahs of tomorrow will never be able to experience the
complete freedom of their ancestors but will, at least, continue to grace the
planet.
It boils down to, too many people and new developments that
keep on encroaching on the available land for wild animals – at the end of the
day, the choice is in our hands.
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| The King Cheetah in all his glory (it's not a new breed, but where both parents have the recessive gene) |
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