Pittsburgh Marathon 2012

We need your help!!!

On the 6th of May 2012 Kate and I will be participating in the Pittsburgh Marathon Relay during our holiday to the USA.

We are running to raise funds for a new holding/quarantine camp for our cheetahs here at the NCCC being kept in our large 500ha soft-release enclosure. This new complex will help us look after any cheetah that becomes sick or injured and will provide more options when dealing with cheetahs suitable for release, especially females with cubs who would need to be isolated from the big male Spartacus.

Please support us and give what you can and share this link with all of your friends. It will be greatly appreciated and truly help the NCCC’s efforts to conserve wild carnivores.

Click here to donate - It will only take two minutes! :)

Many thanks! Matt and Kat

Volunteer Reports

Jana Fode

The first thing I heard about Solitaire was that the landscape is so beautiful, and that is absolutely true as it looks just how you would picture Africa to be. I wanted to see and experience as much as I could during my stay in Namibia so I decided to volunteer at the NCCC. It was a good decision!

I would be joined by two other volunteers Jess and Paul. Shortly after we arrived we were taken by Matt and Kate to track the cheetahs in the 500ha soft release camp. Before entering I felt very relaxed because I had met several cheetahs before at N/a'an ku se's Wildlife Sanctuary. But the moment we met Spartacus he gave me a very different experience! For the first time I saw a cat that could live and act just like a wild one. However, Spartacus was not my favourite cheetah, Pepper is the cat I fell in love with. Her glance is very intense even though she was hand raised from a young age. 

But back to the research work which includes hiking to the camera traps which are spread over the area, I like this part a lot and I was happy I got the exercise because Matt and Kate are fast walkers and climbers, they will make you fit! :) 

After returning and having cooled of your feet in the pool you then get the chance to have a look through the pictures and if  you are lucky you may find leopards, cheetah or hyena, but you will definitely see a lot of springbok, oryx and zebra.

One of the most enjoyable parts of the trip were the sundowners, whether you see them with the tour guests in the cheetah camp or up on sunset hill close to the Guest Farm, they are amazing!

I also really enjoyed the trip to the dunes at Soussusvlei, you shouldn't miss the chance to go there!! All in all I enjoyed the trip and would recommend it to anyone who loves nature, animals and research work.

Paul Jennings

I came here to the NCCC as I wanted to experience cheetahs in their natural habitat and see for myself what is being done to protect them. I have done various activities including cheetah tracking, cheetah husbandry, game drives and camp maintenance. My favourite activity was feeding the cheetahs because they are at their most active and you can see their natural instincts and strength. Spartacus is the most active cheetah in the enclosure and the adrenaline starts running if he mock charges you!

The Guest Farm and surrounding landscape is amazing and its such a relaxing place to be. On a quiet day its nice to hike through the mountains and take in the beautiful views. I would recommend the experience to anyone interested in Wildlife Conservation.

Jess Labow

Before my arrival at the NCCC I had no idea what to expect. I asked around at N/a'an ku se and was told by other volunteers who had been there that the scenery was beautiful, the atmosphere relaxing and the co-ordinators lovely. My expectations were high after hearing all of this info, however I was not let down.

The first few days were exciting; learning about tracking cheetahs, having hungry cheetahs circling you waiting for food, and learning their history and where they came from. Just with any other conservation project there are always the non-exciting tasks to be done, but Matt and Kate always make sure there is some cheetah tracking/husbandry mixed with some relaxation.

My favourite cheetah would have to be Spartacus. Although he hisses and spits he is usually just protecting his girlfriend Pepper. Although the days can be extremely hot and the nights very cool, it has to be one of the most calming and beautiful landscapes I have and will ever see.

New Arrivals: Laura and Cubs

The NCCC have welcomed three more cheetahs into the soft release holding camp to begin their environmental adjustment period in view for possible release at a later stage.

The three cats in question are an eight-year-old female named ‘Laura’ and her two 24-month-old female cubs ‘Sandy’ and ‘Rusty’. Laura was trapped on a hunting farm in the Otjiwarongo area over two years ago along with her young cubs. N/a’an ku se were called and the cheetah family was taken to N/a’an ku se’s Wildlife Sanctuary.

The start of the NCCC last June has now presented us with the chance to possibly release this family back to the wild or at the very least provided them with extremely large new home. 

Upon their arrival Laura and her cubs were taken straight to the 500ha soft release camp where we document their daily movements via tracking collars. In this case it was important that each individual was fitted with a collar as it can be expected that the cubs will soon split from their mother.

 

For the first night, the cats were left in our small holding pen to adjust to their new environment. By the next morning the cats were ready for their first meal, a large tasty zebra leg. This ensured they had some energy to begin exploring their new home. 

Since that day the family has continued to stay together and they have been found in all sections of the pen. Also, Laura has already made her first kill, a jackal.

However, a year and a half in captivity have left their marks and they often approach the tracking vehicle in anticipation of food. We will continue to observe the family and see if his type of behaviour can be reduced, as a high level of habituation can be very problematic for their suitability for release. We will of course keep you updated on our new family’s progress.

Volunteer Report: Mirjam Frey

Everyday at the NCCC is a new great adventure. After the exciting start with finding Pepper, the newly arrived ‘lost’ five year old cat, in the 500 hectare pen, it continued with translating to German speaking guests on the cheetah drive, checking camera traps and a trip to the dunes in Sossusvlei.

We hoped that Spartacus, our only male cheetah, would bond with beautiful Pepper, because for both of them the pen will be their constant home. They are seen together from time to time. After the stressful first week she seems to like her new home. She behaves like the perfect ambassador cheetah for tourists. She is posing, hissing, spiting and at the same time just a relaxed beautiful self-confident cat, which can be approached easily with a group of guests. It is so amazing to see how different the cheetahs behave every day. 

Guests can see the cheetahs while attending either the one- or two-our drive in the morning or afternoon. Some of them don’t even realise what they will experience before they approach for their first time the cheetahs. But then, every hesitation is gone and they are just amazed by how close they can get to the cats. As there are quite a lot of German speaking guests I translate the information about the partnership between N/a'an ku se and the Solitaire Guest Farm, the pen and its purpose and about the cheetahs, and why they are here and what will happen to them. I like these tours. They are a great way to show people this beautiful slender carnivore. And while the guests learn a lot about the cats so do I while translating to them. To see the response of the guests after the drive is the best reward. They always chatting happily away about what they have just experienced with each other on the way back. Even people who seemed a bit unhappy before the drive have a bright smile all over their faces after getting that close to a cheetah.

Apart from making sure the cats are fine each day and feeding them once a week we check on the camera traps. They are all placed in different spots in riverbeds and little valleys. After a short drive always follows a hike. Some of them are shorter, some longer. But the length is not the actual challenge. Much more challenging is the sun. Even a short walk can feel like miles just because it can heat up that much during the day. But after you will be rewarded by skipping through the pictures, which is always quite exciting. Is there a hyena or even a leopard between all the pictures of zebras and kudus? Sometimes you also get funny pictures of the small animals like the cute little rock dassies, which are hanging out in front of the camera. 

Because the dunes of Sossusvlei are just ‘around’ the corner of Solitaire I also got the possibility to see them. One morning my fellow volunteer Mellissa and Matt got up at five o’clock in the morning to make our two hours drive down to the dunes. First we climbed barefoot Dune 45. It was just amazing. Such a great view all over from the top of it. But the best came on the way back: We didn’t take the ‘official’ way; instead we jumped down on one side of the dune. It was just great fun. After the ‘jump session’ we walked over to Deadvlei: A dry salt lake with a lot of dead trees and another stunning view. Our last stop was dune Big Mama – and she was big, but worse to climb it. After another ‘jumping session’ we had to run back to the car, because in the meantime the sand had heated up by the sun and we almost burnt off our feet! It was a great morning in a stunning countryside – many thanks to our great ‘tour guide’ Matt! 

Mirjam Frey.

Children in the Wilderness

The Children in the Wilderness is an environmental and life skills educational programme that focuses on the next generation of rural decision makers. Children in the Wilderness hosts rural children from all over Southern Africa that live alongside Parks and Reserves and teaches them the importance of conservation.

As part of this programme Namibian children are invited to the Kuala Wilderness Camp (which is just down the road from the NCCC) for an educational camping experience. Kate went to Kuala to give a presentation to one group of children and demonstrated how radio telemetry works by asking the children to find hidden radio collars. The children really enjoyed the experience but for the next time we thought it would be a much more exciting experience for them if when they find the collars there was a cheetah attached to it! So the next group made the short journey here to the NCCC.

It was quite a sight seeing 6 mini-buses arriving at the Guest Farm with around 50 children and supervisors piling out. But I have to say the Children in  the Wilderness supervisors did a fantastic job of sorting the children into their groups and they were extremely well behaved.  After a quick introduction we immediately loaded the children onto the cars and took them to track the cheetahs. Upon entering the camp Kate and I took a group each with Kate heading off in the direction of Annie and Betty and my group in search of Pepper.

 

The children were very keen and a couple knew a lot of the questions I asked them about cheetahs. Each had a turn using the radio-telemetry equipment, and when we found Pepper sitting beautifully in the grass you could see the excitement in their faces.

On the way to find Annie and Betty we stopped on a road and I showed the group good examples of cheetah spoor and demonstrated how you can tell the difference between a left and right, front and back and how we can use that information to ID individuals and estimate their numbers.

When we approached the area Annie and Betty were in we could see Kate’s group were still in the area, when we passed them we learned that Spartacus was also in the area. Kate didn’t tell us exactly where the cats were so it was up to the children to lead the way. First we found Annie and Betty who seemed a little confused by the appearance of yet more brightly colored little people.

Spartacus’ signal was very close and as we walked of in his direction the children had an experience they will probably never forget as Spartacus jumped out of his bush and gave his very impressively display of intimidation with hisses and spits. Despite explaining to the group at the start that this was to be expected and we had nothing to fear, the sight of a mean looking 60kg Spartacus still gave them a bit of a shock! Spartacus as he always does then just sat back down and fell a sleep. He’s just a big softie really :)

 

Upon returning to the Guest Farm the children had lunch and Kate then did a quick presentation about the NCCC and the research we are doing. At the end Kate and I were treated to a thank you ‘chant’ from the children and they were soon on their way back to Kuala.

It was a hugely enjoyable morning and the children really seemed to have enjoyed themselves, we hope they learned a little as well. We very much look forward to welcoming more Children in the Wilderness in the future :)

Photos by Mirjam Frey