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	OKONJIMA'S NEW 20 000 HECTARE RESERVE 16 000 ha & the 4 000 ha Reserve merge in November 2011 to make one large 200 km² Private Nature Reserve The length, height and cost of the fence & reason for its design: This fence is 98 kilometres in length, 2.4 metres high and costs about N$ 74 000.00 per kilometre. It was built in this way to control predator movement. Since the 4 000 hectare fence was erected in 2000, the original design has been up-dated; the new fence will prevent predators from coming in and moving out of this Reserve. In this way, effective research can be carried out on the Park's resident carnivores without disturbance from any other carnivores which may find their way in due to the high density of game inside of the Park. Read More...

	THE OKONJIMA RESERVE GOES LIVE! By Janek Hoth 2011 saw the historical installation of 8 Vivotek Cameras across the new 200km² Okonjima Nature Reserve, of which 2 of them are portable, which means that they can be set up at a main game-trail, a fresh kill or active den, etc. The other 5 cameras are placed at waterholes or natural dams. The cameras are all connected to the main server at Main Camp; from there, the image or video-feed is sent to our 3 main lodges, Main Camp, Bush Camp & The Villa. Each one has a 32" Flat screen mounted in the lounge area of the camp's Lapa, for our guests to view. (PAWS will invest in their screen and live video-feed when they re-open in 2012!) Read More...

	HUMAN WILDLIFE CONFLICT along Etosha's borders When told that there were not that many lions in Etosha (at that point estimated at approx. 350 adults and sub-adults), an elderly, pioneer who had farmed cattle and suffered losses to predators for more than 50 years along the borders of the Etosha National Park said that he was sad that he did not have long enough to live in order to shoot the last remaining lion . . . ! This statement may have shocked those who read his comment in the press, but the fact remains, that still today, 61 years after some of these hardened farmers began livestock farming adjacent to the Park, the Human-Wildlife Conflict (hereafter HWC) remains unsolved. Read More...

	A LITTLE SCHOOL CALLED 'BLYDSKAP' 'Blydskap' is the Afrikaans word for Happiness … and how fitting, as smiles greet us each time AfriCat North staff visit the school. On the communal farm Marienhoehe in the Khoa di //Hoas Conservancy of Namibia's northwest, a cattle-post was named 'Hartseer' (Heartache) – drought and regular visits to the water reservoir by elephant herds, have left their mark and taken their toll. But the sadness has turned to laughter ringing from the corrugated iron hut these children call 'home' - with support from a number of donors as well as students, during one of the coldest winters experienced in this area AfriCat North was able to provide pillows, beds and warm blankets for the 20 pre-schoolers living there. Read More...

	THE PERIVOLI OKONJIMA COUNTRY SCHOOL ONE YEAR HAS PASSED . . . by Yolandi Roos Well, here we are, one year on and we have made it! It has truly been an extraordinary and rewarding year in all respects. To give the children of Okonjima employees the opportunity to have access to a wonderful education system and see how they have grown and learned so much in this time, is heart-warming. We cannot thank the Perivoli Trust (Mr James Alexandroff) and Okonjima enough for the opportunity. Without them it would not have been possible to reach this landmark - to make a significant difference within our environment for these children. 'Education for the next generation' is our motto, forming the youth as future leaders and conservationists of our wonderful country. Read More...

	THE DESERT DASH - COMPLETED After a celebratory drink and time to recover we are all looking back and enjoying the memories of the Desert Dash, the 340km, 24 hour mega cycle event! It was all very well organized and we can understand the growing popularity each year. The atmosphere and spirits of the cyclists were very high in anticipation of the start. The race began in the middle of the day in temperatures reaching 36 degrees. Read More...

	INTERNATIONAL WILD DOG MANAGEMENT WORKSHOP The report below was taken from the Large Carnivore Association of Namibia (LCMAN) Annual Newsletter. International Wild Dog Management Workshop in Namibia – October 2011 Representatives from several member organizations of the LCMAN involved in wild dog conservation together with MET's large carnivore coordinator and international wild dog experts recently gathered for a two-day workshop near Windhoek in order to discuss and guide management decisions regarding Namibia's wild dogs in the future. The participants renewed their commitment to working together in protecting this endangered species and compiled a report of suggestions for management actions and activities that will be submitted to the Ministry of Environment and Tourism for review. Read More...

	THE CHEETAH SYMPOSIUM IN SA This report was written by Dr. Gianetta Purchase: Opportunities and guidelines for the reintroduction of cheetah across national borders in the Southern Africa region for conservation purposes. In June, AfriCat attended the meeting that the regional programme had organised to bring together government and NGOs to discuss reintroductions of cheetah within Southern Africa, something that is likely to increase as more areas become suitable for cheetah as a result of increased commitment from government and landowners as well as protection of wildlife. Read More...

	CHEETAH FLIES AND MORE FLIES . . . Do they really bite? Do they suck a small amount of the blood while on their host – or are they simply living off dry skin - as previously believed? The louse fly of cheetahs belongs to the genus Hippobosca within the family Hippoboscidae, but is commonly known just as the 'louse fly'. Even though these flies have a pair of large wings and are strong fliers, they seldom leave their hosts to which they cling by means of two strong claws at the tip of each of their six legs. The high rainfall over the past few years has perhaps become one of the reasons, that we have noticed an increase in the number of the hardy 'cheetah flies' on the cats that are part of our Care Centre. After discussions with the vets who assist AfriCat and a noted concern from Team AfriCat, that their numbers seem to be increasing – we can now confidently support an article from Iowa State University and an article written by Professor Ivan Horak, which fully supports AfriCat's theory that the Hippobosca longipennis or otherwise commonly known as 'the cheetah fly', are blood sucking and not detritus feeding. Read More...

	TOBY'S BAD LUCK ... By Chris Moshosho Following on from our June edition, it is hard to believe how much bad luck Toby has had since his initial release into the wild. http://www.africat.org/newsletters/2011/june.html In April 2011, he had to be brought in after an injury to his right eye, which recovered well and Toby was able to go back to hunting again. However, on 24th October 2011, Toby was found again with a teary eye and this time it was his left eye. He was darted and brought back to AfriCat's Carnivore Care Centre, with the piece of thorn still stuck inside his cornea. It was carefully removed - two pieces of one of our invader thorn-bushes – the Dichrostachys cinerea - more commonly known as the 'sickle bush'. Read More...

	BUSH ENCROACHMENT DE-BUSHING ON OKONJIMA by Wayne Hanssen and AJ Rousseau Over the past hundred years, commercial farming has probably caused the most damage to Namibia's natural habitat. Due to over grazing and controlled natural fires, certain bush species were able to get the upper hand and resulted in the majority of Namibia's open plains becoming thorny thickets. On Okonjima we are trying to reclaim the grass-land and turn it back to what it looked like before man interfered. The two main bush species causing encroachment in our area are the Blackthorn (Acacia mellifera) and Sicklebush (Dichrostachys cinerea). The problem is that in the areas where these two species have taken over, it also causes an imbalance in the ratio of grasses to bush and in turn, a decrease in the biodiversity of the Reserve. Read More...

	AFRICAT ATTENDS LONDON'S FIRST WILDLIFE EXPO: The World's wildlife is under pressure as never before, and most of this pressure is human-related... man has created it and only mankind can reverse this situation. It is in man's best interest to do so as, without a balance between nature and man's progress, our wilderness will be lost and man will be the loser. Unless we can find a way to make the world's wildlife a part of the equation, by making it sustainable and perhaps even by making it 'pay its way', then there is little hope. Sitting in our comfortable homes watching our wilderness look spectacular on television is one thing, but being a farmer in India or Africa who struggles to feed his family and have his crops destroyed by elephant or his stock killed by lion, is another. To him it matters not that he built his farm in their habitat – he has to feed his children. Read More...

	P.A.W.S - People And Wildlife Solutions AfriCat's Volunteer Conservation Project by Roma Muccio "An Acre Of Performance Is Worth A Whole World of Promise" Never a truer statement made and so incredibly relevant to every volunteer who has passed through our grass doors here at PAWS in the past 3 years! This saying has become our mantra, our belief and if ever we are all feeling a little blue, we only need look at our lovely wooden sign etched with these words displayed proudly in the centre of our lapa and we remember why we are here! Read More...

	FOSTERING NAMIBIAN WARTHOGS It was late December 2005. I had just arrived in Namibia to spend the Christmas holidays on our farm which neighbours Okonjima, when Donna radioed to tell me that there were some baby warthogs coming and I must take them as it was too busy at Africat. I had always longed to be able to bring up one of the baby animals that seemed to arrive regularly at Africat so I was quite excited as I drove up to collect them – finally I was going to be the mother of a wild animal. I have to admit though – my heart sank when I saw them. There were three of them in a cardboard box. They were alert and hyper, black hard shiny things with bulbous, hot heads and sharp little hooves and sharp teeth (though I only found that out later). They reminded me of extra-terrestrial monsters from some movie. No soft, warm, cuddly babies for me here! Read More...

	'STICHTING SPOTS' VISITS AFRICAT NORTH Simone Eckhardt of Stichting SPOTS, Netherlands, visited AfriCat North for the first time since her fund-raising efforts have been put to good use – building community kraals and protecting livestock from marauding lions. SPOTS, an animal charity based in the Netherlands, started out raising much-needed funds for 'the spotted cats', especially the Namibian cheetah; when Simone arrived at AfriCat North on a whistle-stop tour 18 months ago, she realized that lions, too, have spots … some individuals carrying their spots into maturity ! Read More...

	AFRICAT NORTH FUND RAISING PROJECT 2012 GPS (Satellite) COLLARS FOR LIONS The Project: AfriCat North Research Project: Trans-boundary movements along the boundaries of the Etosha National Park (hereafter ENP) and in adjacent conservancies. The frequency of lions crossing the ENP boundary and the formation of independent populations outside of the park are not known. This study will monitor trans-boundary lion movement to determine how the conflict between lions and the farmers along these boundaries could be minimised. Read More...

	FUNDRAISING PRIORITIES This year's excellent rainfall has brought unexpected consequences for the Carnivore Care Centre – the consistent rain has accelerated grass growth, which obstructs AfriCat's ability to monitor the well-being of cats, and this high grass also becomes a tremendous fire hazard as it dries in winter. AfriCat therefore intends to raise funds for the purchase of brush cutters for the smaller holding camps, as well as a tractor and rotary cutter for the larger game areas. Read More...

	The Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association Shining World Compassion Award. 8th November 2011 Dear Mr. Hanssen, It is with much admiration and gratitude that we present to AfriCat Foundation the "Shining World Compassion Award." This Award is presented in recognition of the Foundation's outstanding efforts to preserve Africa's environmental integrity through its noble work with large cats. The selfless spirit of service and educational efforts of the Foundation are helping create a brighter future for planet Earth. Read More...

	CAT'S WHISPER AfriCat Newsletter September 2011 This month we take a close look at the challenges faced by AfriCat North, what our leopards are up to as well as a special tribute to the volunteer project, PAWS. Read More...

	WILDTRACK VISITS OKONJIMA AND AFRICAT Earlier this year, we had the great pleasure of a visit to Okonjima – home of the AfriCat Foundation, at the kind invitation of Wayne Hanssen and his family. Our mission was rather different from other visitors - we were not there to look for cheetah, or leopard, or hyena but rather we were searching for their footprints. WildTrack (www.wildtrack.org) is our endangered species monitoring organisation. We were in Namibia co-hosting a carnivore monitoring workshop at N/a'an ku se Wildlife Sanctuary, which Wayne Hanssen – representing AfriCat, attended. Our primary interest is in using footprints to monitor endangered and elusive species. Using our Footprint Identification Technique (FIT) we can identify individuals, and sometimes also their age and sex. Monitoring endangered species is central to successful conservation. Take the cheetah as an example. Unless we have accurate figures for the numbers of cheetah in Namibia, and where they are, it's very difficult to implement a successful conservation strategy. Yet current estimates range from around 2,500 animals, up to more than 9,000. Read More...

	PAWS TURNS 3 YRS OLD P.A.W.S - People And Wildlife Solutions AfriCat's Volunteer Conservation Project "An Acre Of Performance Is Worth A Whole World of Promise" Never a truer statement made and so incredibly relevant to every volunteer who has passed through our grass doors here at PAWS in the past 3 years! This saying has become our mantra, our belief and if ever we are all feeling a little blue, we only need look at our lovely wooden sign etched with these words displayed proudly in the centre of our lapa and we remember why we are here! PAWS turned 3 years old on 16th August 2011, can you believe it, Clive and I can't sometimes and have to pinch ourselves. From a tiny seed planted in our heads several years ago and in conjunction with Wayne Hanssen, the owner of Okonjima, Clive and I stood down from working at The Villa, Okonjima's high end exclusive property and donned our working boots and gloves and built our very own 5 Star Camp, well not quite perhaps but in our eyes it is!! So, I hear you ask, what exactly is PAWS and what are we doing on Okonjima's 55,000h game reserve? Well here goes my "reasonably" brief answer. Read More...

	CATS WHISPER AfriCat Newsletter June 2011 We survived! The past two months have been filled with many activities and much excitement at the AfriCat Foundation. Our new Board of Trustees was inducted, we managed the annual health check and we won an award! Read More...

	AFRICAT WINS 2011 CONSERVATION AWARD @ INDABA SA. 7 May 2011 20h00: AFRICAT WINS 2011 CONSERVATION AWARD @ INDABA, SA. Category: BEST WILDLIFE ORGANISATION! The finalists were . . . AfriCat Foundation Children in the Wilderness David Sheldrick Trust Animal Orphanage David Shepherd - David Shepherd Wildife Foundation Endangered Wildlife Trust Jane Goodall Institute Ol Malo Trust South Luangwa Conservation Society Uthando Wilderness Wildlife Trust WINNER: The AfriCat Foundation RUNNER UP: Children in the Wilderness THIRD PLACE: David Sheldrick Trust Animal Orphanage Read More...

	CATS WHISPER AfriCat Newsletter March 2011 GETTING IT RIGHT! PART 2... Not only have we been revisiting the strategy for the AfriCat Foundation, but AfriLeo has now also become part of the greater vision, and has been renamed AfriCat North. We are all working towards 'A Free Cat'! Read More...

	CATS WHISPER AfriCat Newsletter March 2011 GETTING IT RIGHT! Welcome to the new AfriCat Namibia quarterly newsletter. We’ve come a long way since afternoon tea with 'Chinga' on the lawn – from Cheetah rescue, care & release to rescue and rehabilitation; from farmer support to 'Conservation through Education'. We are committed to encouraging youth and communities to ensure the survival of large carnivores within a balanced ecosystem. Read More...

	RADIO-COLLARS & RESEARCH versus TOURISM & PHOTOGRAPHERS Different VHF radio collars used within the Okonjima Nature Reserve. One of the most distinct features the carnivores that live on Okonjima share - is that radio-collar each rehabilitated or researched predator wears. It is the one feature that creates the most 'talk' – controversial at times - between keen photographers, operators and the guests staying at Okonjima that have come a long way to experience the AfriCat rehabilitation project. It is the one 'sighting' that puts us apart from most other game reserves. As we all know - Okonjima is home to AfriCat. AFRICAT and the OKONJIMA NATURE RESERVE are dedicated to carnivore research and the rehabilitation of captive predators. Visitors come to Okonjima to learn about the work AfriCat is doing. They come to see a 'working project', and if well informed, understand why most of our cats are collared! Read More...

	AFRICAT 2011 & BEYOND – OUR NEW AND REVISED STRATEGY Let’s go back to BEFORE the inception of The AfriCat Foundation in 1992... The Hanssen family (Val and Rose Hanssen were well-known cattle ranchers; 1950 to 1992) had proven that the only way to manage livestock farming in prime carnivore country, was to adopt methods of keeping young calves (first 3 months) out of the wild at night and protecting small stock, such as sheep and goats, with herdsmen and guard dogs. BUT, whatever you do, DO NOT REMOVE THE PREDATORS FROM THEIR TERRITORIES (home-ranges), for this upsets the balance and the result - a substantial increase in carnivores in these vacant territories! AfriCat – 'A FREE CAT'- was therefore founded to raise funds with which to go out and share our successful farming methods with Namibia’s farmers. If successful, 25% of the world’s Cheetah population would continue to thrive in Namibia. Read More...

	GRADE 5 LEARNERS EMBARK ON A TOUR OF A LIFETIME Fourteen Grade 5 learners selected from five different primary schools in Swakopmund, embarked on the tour of a lifetime last week. This group of young learners, accompanied by three teachers from Mondesa Youth Opportunities (MYO) travelled from the coast to visit Okonjima Lodge and the Africat Foundation, some 50 kilometres south of Otjiwarongo. For most of the learners, this was their first trip away from home and the experiences they had over this past weekend will last a lifetime. Some expressed surprise at the fierceness of an upcountry thunderstorm and for others, the fact that the bush is so alive with all manner of creatures and plants, was enthralling and amazing all at the same time. The annual camping weekend for young people is a joint initiative of MYO, Okonjima and the AfriCat Foundation as part of their respective environmental education programmes. Sue Wagner, one of the teachers from MYO explained that the offer of these trips are also a motivational tool amongst learners, as only those individuals who do well at school and who have excellent behaviour and attendance records are eligible for a place on the tour. Competition between learners is strong to earn one of the coveted spots. Read More...

	THE LEOPARDS WITHIN THE 16000ha AREA Written by AJ Rousseau During 2009 we did a population density study on leopards within the area that was going to become the NEW PRIVATE, OKONJIMA 16000ha NATURE RESERVE. The aim was to try and establish the amount of leopards that are in the area and to get an idea of how many cheetahs we would be able to be put in the reserve. The study was done by putting out bait throughout the area and monitoring leopard activity at the bait by motion-trigger trail cameras. At the time of the study the boundary fence of the reserve was not completely finished and the electricity was not activated, therefore the leopards were able to move freely across borders between the protected reserve and the more hostile commercial farms surrounding the reserve. The end estimate was about 22 leopards identified across the park with about 40% overlapping the boundary on to farmland. Read More...