December 23
Hello everyone!
Why shouldn’t you play cards in Namibia? Because there are
loads of cheetahs!
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| This isn't a cheetah |
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| These are... |
Well not loads. There aren’t loads of big cats in the world
anymore, after all. This is for many reasons, most of which are down to the
species you and I belong to. Day one of my northern Namibia adventure, which
dramatically changed from a scorching morning with clear blue skies to a wild,
wet and windy late afternoon, was spent learning about two of the rarer big
cats who call Africa home: the cheetah and the leopard.
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| It's the beginning of Namibia's rainy season - I wasn't prepared for that so got wet |
To see these secretive animals in action, my tour group (no
car to do the self-drive dream, remember) zoomed out north from Windhoek,
travelling about 170 km via a wood market in Okhandja. The crafts were nice but many aren’t exclusive to
Namibia – a lot of their products are available in similar stalls in Lilongwe.
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| Okhandja market |
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| The curios on sale here can be found in Malawi as well |
In the early afternoon we arrived at Okonjima, home of the
AfriCat charity and 22,000 sq/km of flat bush, with trees of no great stature
adding vibrancy to the land.
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| The hike to the top was a bit precarious in flip-flops |
That land isn’t just home to cats. Whilst driving around and
without specifically trying to find them, we saw all of these…
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| Kudu |
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| Giraffe |
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| Oryx |
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| Warthog |
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| Jackal |
One of them, called Wahu, cannot be released back into the
wild as he has lost his fear of humans. One result of this is that he is used
by the charity as an ‘ambassador’, as they put it, to show visitors these
reclusive and solitary cats up close.
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| Wahu |
Leopards are incredibly graceful movers. Wahu’s slow,
controlled movements and effortless leaps onto tree trunks to collect his meat
wouldn’t look out of place in an Olympic gymnastics event. He weighs the same
as me, about 60 kg, but springs majestically and silently. Unlike me.
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| Wahu enjoying one of three hunks of meat left for him |
Watching the leopard seemingly cradle the hunk of meat with
its super-sized paws whilst gnawing away at the flesh was a mesmeric
experience. The most interesting thing I learnt about them is that these paws
have retractable claws.
I could have watched and marvelled at the leopard for a lot
longer but we were soon whisked away to learn more about the charity’s work and
history. Wahu himself has an interesting story. He was cared for – and even
lived with – one of the creators of AfriCat when he was young. One day the man
returned to find a trail of blood at the front door. Rushing in, he found that
Wahu had killed and dragged a warthog into the house to eat. Alas, he didn’t
last in the house any longer. It’s a valuable reminder that leopards can’t be
tamed. We were told they are the only cats who can’t be.
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| Our guide explaining how AfriCat works |
One of the stranger items we were shown in the clinic was a
jar containing four lion embryos. These were retrieved from a female lion who
had been killed by a farmer. It may seem a little bit unethical to keep these
embryos; our guide told us they are a visual demonstration that someone may not
be killing just one animal.
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| Lion embryos |
From here we drove into a fortified enclosure which was
reminiscent of a part of Jurassic Park. The mission was to find the fastest
land animal on the planet. Faster even than my beloved Usain Bolt.
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| The gate for the cheetah reserve |
Well not then, admittedly. Cheetahs are supposedly less of a
threat than leopards, meaning our open vehicle could drive quite close to them.
Their behaviour was fascinating. We were in one section which housed two
brothers. The next section, separated by the wire fence, contained three
cheetahs from a different family. It quickly became clear that they don’t like
each other…
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| Cheetah |
The cheetahs would hit the fence with their paws, wanting to
have the chance to fight their rivals on the other side. Later, they started
running along the dividing wire, desperately trying to find a gap through which
they could spar to the death.
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| The five cheetahs in a tense stand-off |
Unlike the solitary leopards, cheetahs stick together as a
family. They look very similar but there are differences, some of which are the
product of adaptation. A great example are the black teardrops under a cheetah’s
eyes. These help deflect the sun when a cheetah is running at full pelt – a
speed which can reach a scary 120 km/h – allowing it to lock eyes on its
target.
You can argue that I didn’t truly see leopards or cheetahs
in the ‘wild’. Unfortunately for these animals, they can’t be released back
into the national parks. What they are offered in the AfriCat reserve is a lot
of space to live as naturally and safely as possible. What we are offered in
return is the opportunity to see these graceful creatures up close. I can only
hope their populations aren’t depleted any further so that future generations
can enjoy them with their own eyes.
Love you all
Matt
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