On one of my trips to South Africa I had the wonderful opportunity to get up close and personal with a cheetah. As I stroked the magnificent animal I had time to reflect on what an amazing experience it is to be able to touch and communicate with a wild creature normally only seen from the window of a safari vehicle. It is something I will never forget and something I will be proud to tell my grandchildren. The sad truth is that by the time my grandchildren are born there may well be no more cheetah left in the wild as their numbers are diminishing rapidly.
At the Cango Wildlife Park in South Africa their aim is to promote awareness of the dangers facing these wild animals and to inspire people to do something about it. Their method is to operate “Natural Encounters” where you can meet amazing creatures and physically inter-react with them. The well being and welfare of the animals is their main concern and they operate on a very careful and sensitive basis with hand–reared animals that are born in captivity and used to human contact. The hope is that encounters with these magnificent creatures will encourage compassion and support in the plight that these species face. Once you have come into close contact with them it is impossible not to be moved by them and to genuinely want to help. Personally I find the big cats are some of the most beautiful and awe-inspiring species on the planet and my visit with the cheetahs inspired me to get involved with the WWF and their various sponsorship programmes that work towards protecting endangered big cats.
The Cango Wildlife Park breeds cheetah and tigers as part of their programme to promote and fund the conservation of cheetah and other endangered species through captive breeding, research and public awareness.
Highly specialised, the cheetah is the fastest land animal on earth, achieving an incredible top speed of 120 kms per hour. Unfortunately this very skill which is used for hunting has placed the cheetah in direct conflict with man. In order to achieve these high speeds, the cheetah requires open flat land – the same land that farmers require for agriculture. This loss of habitat, linked to low reproductive success caused by poor gene diversity, has reduced cheetah numbers to less than 10,000 worldwide. The cheetah is on the endangered animals list and a huge effort is needed to try and protect and build the breeding stock of this amazing hunter.
The Cheetah Preservation Foundation operated by the team at the Cango Wildlife Park was founded in 1988, with the principal aim of ensuring the survival of the cheetah and other endangered species, as well as educating visitors about the plight of the these animals. The Cheetah Preservation Foundation also gives visitors the opportunity to become pro-active in the conservation of endangered species, by joining as members and thereby contributing financially to our various conservation projects. With public involvement and contributions the Cheetah Preservation Foundation was able to save many cheetahs, increase breeding stock across both national parks and in zoos worldwide, and also contribute to various other wildlife programmes in across South Africa, Kenya, Australia, Nigeria, Namibia and New Zealand. They work with other species such as tigers, African wild dogs (one of the most endangered species in the world), lions and crocodiles.
