The Rehabilitation Program

Aside environmental education, Africat's main project at the moment is rehabilitaing as many of its cheetah as possible. Africat also stands for "A Free Cat", and the Hanssen family believe that wild animals should live in the wild wherever possible. Those cats who cannot survive in the wild for various reasons, can be kept in captivity as 'ambassadors' for their species, as I outlined in 'Diary Entry- Day 8'.

Fit, young cheetah (under the age of seven) who are not very habituated to humans are given the chance to live wild. They are released from the Carnivore Care Centre into the Okonjima reserve, often in small coalitions. Cheetah are generally solitary, with only males and young adults forming small groups, but for rehabilitation purposes working together usually gives them a better chance. Also, all the females in the reserve have contraceptive implants, which may alter their natural impulse to separate from their companions.

Once released, they are monitored daily (as all are fitted with radio collars) and fed intermittently. As their hunting hopefully improves, they will cease to be fed by humans, unless they appear not to have made a kill for a while and are becoming thin.

If they are not succesful hunters, they will unfortunately have to return to the Centre.

If they are injured or fall ill whilst undegoing rehabilitation, they will be treated and held at Africat until they are healthy again, and re-released- condition permitting. If they sustain long term damage which would prevent them from thriving, they remain in captivity.

All the cheetah in the reserve are rehab cheetah. Three, Coco, Spud and Bones, had just been released when I visited for three weeks in 2010. At this time, AJ was in charge of monitoring them, and as I was essentially work shadowing him I saw them almost every day. Although their two companions, Frankie and Hammer, have since died (Frankie whilst I was here in 2010) it was lovely to see them getting on so well.

It may seem that with two out of a group of five dying, rehabilitation is not a succesful method. However, even with these cheetah being immediately disadvantaged due to their lack of knowledge of the other animals in the bush (Frankie was killed by a leopard or hyena, probably because he wouldn't back away when challenged as he didn't know he was far weaker than his opponent) this is an excellent survival rate; in the worst habitats, only about 5% of cheetah cubs survive to adulthood in the wild.