5th August Ohange Lodge

5th August. Ohange Lodge, near Tsumeb
It was a frustrating day yesterday. We drove north to Otjiwharingo and hoped to visit the REST crowd that we will be doing some volunteering work with later. However due to a thrown away phone number, bad directions and a closed information centre we ended up 40kms out of town at the Cheetah Conservation Fund complex. The REST crowd were further up the main road and about the same distance on dirt road. Well, seeing we were there we took in the tour. It was feeding time, they are beautiful animals, the ones at the complex were orphans and some weren’t able to be released back into the while lacking hunting skills to survive. The genetic bank of the cheetah is very small in fact they may be traced back to a handful of females. Deformities are common, the male’s sperm is often infertile and inbreeding is a major problem. CCF are doing an important job of trying to increase the gene diversity by sending semen worldwide to other groups.
We also learnt that 90% of cheetahs are not in reserves and game parks. In the past they have been shot by farmers when they attack their live stock. CCF are working with the farmers to turn a bad situation into a win/win one. They are breeding Turkish Anatolian shepherd dogs to sell at a cheap price to farmers who have had stock killed. The Anatolian dogs of course bond with the stock and protect them with their lives. It is an ingenious arrangement we thought. The farmer spends a few days at CCF to learn how to look after them and follow up visits occur to make sure all is well. The cheetahs have to revert back to the plentiful wildlife on the farms.
I am writing this a few metres from the van, the sun is rising, behind me an ostrich (partly tame) had just wandered by and in the distance a group of springbok leap away. I was going for an early morning walk but thought better of it. I’m not sure of predators in this area.