Day 37 Cheetah

The day started early. At 7:30 we were able to catch up on our game drive from yesterday.

The drive also took us to a cheetah sanctuary run by the Africat Organization. The Africat Organization is a non-profit organization dedicated to the conservation of wild cats (lions, leopards, cheetahs, etc.). The wild animals are a problem for local farmers, as they can prey on their livestock. This sometimes leads to the shooting of the wild cats. The organization then takes in the orphaned cubs, raises them, and tries to reintroduce them into the wild. The organization also focuses on research and education. The goal is to learn more about the animals and educate the farmers not to hunt them.

In one of these sanctuaries, we had the opportunity to observe 5 cheetahs. They are waiting to be released back into the wild. Unfortunately, the necessary space is currently lacking.

We were shown the dark side of human rearing with a leopard. The leopard was orphaned and was raised by a caretaker. However, when it reached a certain age, the leopard saw the caretaker as a competitor for its territory. It could no longer be released into the wild as it had already associated humans with food. So if a human didn't provide it with food, the human became the food.

As a result, it was given its own 10-hectare land in the park, where it now lives and is fed.

After this tour, we packed up our things and headed to Etosha National Park. We managed to get there without getting lost today. However, the car had some issues. We couldn't accelerate properly.

But that didn't stop us from going on a short self-game drive in the late afternoon in the national park.

And there we saw it again. The cheetah. This time, however, in the wild. Without fences and feeding. It is wonderful to watch this creature. It moves with such elegance.

Hopefully the car will recover so that we can fully enjoy exploring the national park tomorrow.