AFRICAT FOUNDATION

AFRICAT'S CARNIVORE CARE CENTRE (welfare)

Despite the proposed changes, we would like to reassure all of AfriCat’s supporters, especially those who have sponsored the Welfare side of the project, that all is well. Over the past 2 decades, the Rescue and Release Programme developed as a result of our relationship with the farming community. The Welfare, in turn, was a by-product of the Rescue and Release Programme. We currently hold 21 Cheetahs and 6 Leopards in our care that are fit and wild enough to be part of our Rehabilitation Project; there are, however, 48 cheetahs, 4 leopards, 3 caracal and 13 lion too old or tame to go back into the wild. These individuals are going to live out their lives under the expert care of the AfriCat team and continue to be "ambassadors" for their wild counter-parts. (March 2011)

Each year AfriCat rescues an average of 40 - 50 cheetahs and leopards that have been trapped on farms throughout Namibia. It is our aim to return as many animals as possible to their natural environment and over the last 18 years we have managed to release 85% of all collected carnivores. It is only those that are not suitable for release, that have remained in AfriCat’s care.

However, with the newly revised strategy – we need to remember that although we have rescued and saved the lives of more than a thousand animals from farmland, of which 85% have been released back onto commercial farmland – we cannot forget that once released – this 'newly found freedom' or 'second chance to go back to the wild' - means into new territories, belonging to others!
In their new 'territories' they need to either fight for their new home or run the 'gauntlet’ of the farmers’ traps and guns, back to their former territory, where they naturally tend to want to go back to.
We are therefore uncertain as to how many of the released carnivores survive this re-location beyond one year!

Once funds are available, carnivores will be released back onto farm-land ONLY when we can link this release to a research project including a group of neighbouring farms, hereby creating a larger 'SAFE' area for the newly released carnivores; a researcher will be based in this area and the released individuals will be collared. This will enable AfriCat to monitor their post-release movements and adaptability.

In this way, AfriCat will be able to establish the effectiveness and long-term sustainability of our Rescue & Release, Rehabilitation and Relocation Programmes.

Back to our Carnivore Care Centre - AfriCat provides a home, food and care for over a hundred animals that currently cannot be released into the wild, or who need subsidized diets while honing their skills in the Rehabilitation Reserve. The 13 lions resident in both of AfriCat’s Sanctuaries, are destined to remain with us for the rest of their lives as it is extremely difficult to release these captive, habituated cats. Their hunting skills are instinctive but due to captivity, they have lost their natural respect for humans and could cause loss of human life if released into the wild.

There are several reasons as to why these animals have had to remain in our care, the primary one being orphaned cubs that would be dependent on their mothers for food and protection and are too young to cope on their own. These cubs have either been captured without their mothers or their mothers have been killed.

Only by limiting or eliminating those factors that influence habituation and ensuring that animals retain or regain their natural fear of man, will the rehabilitated animals be able to return to the land from which they were originally removed.

To ensure that orphaned large carnivores have every chance of returning to the wild, the time they spend in temporary captivity will be kept to a minimum; ideally the animals should be released into the rehabilitation reserve between the ages of eighteen months and two years, when they would become independent from their mothers in the wild. Depending on circumstances, human imprinting and other factors influencing habituation will also be such that the animals remain as wild as possible before they can be rehabilitated, thereby increasing their chances of returning to their natural habitat.

Many of the animals that AfriCat has taken in have been in captivity elsewhere for extended periods of time; they have become habituated to people or completely tame, making most of them unsuitable for release. These animals are either no longer wanted, have become too expensive to care for, or have been confiscated by the authorities for being held illegally or with improper care.

Most of the large carnivores that have suffered injuries have been returned to the wild after recuperation, but in cases where the injuries are too extensive and a wild animal will never have the chance to be rehabilitated or released we feel that euthanasia is the kindest option.

Providing a healthy living environment for large carnivores in temporary or permanent captivity is fundamental to minimising illness and injuries. The animals are housed in spacious enclosures of between five and four hundred acres in a natural, stress-free environment. They are fed a well-balanced diet and vitamin and mineral supplements are used to prevent deficiencies.

The animals are observed on a daily basis to monitor their wellbeing and condition, allowing for a quick response and treatment for any illness or injuries should they occur.

Keeping large carnivores in captivity in Namibia requires a Permit from the Ministry of Environment and Tourism. One of the conditions of this Perrmit is that a veterinary inspection is carried out once a year. To comply with this regulation AfriCat makes use of this opportunity to carry out thorough health examinations on the animals in care. Veterinary specialists in the fields of dentistry, ophthalmology, gastro-enterology and reproduction are also consulted to give input to the health assessments and perform various procedures that may be required. The animals are vaccinated, blood samples are taken and contraceptive implants are administered.

Although AfriCat’s animals receive a high standard of health care, unfortunately illness and injuries cannot be prevented altogether. Animals requiring treatment or surgery are anaesthetised and taken to a veterinary clinic.

Animals requiring isolation for recuperation or while on medication are placed in special holding facilities constructed within their enclosures.

The lion welfare section of AfriCat North serves the purpose of rescue and care of orphaned lion cubs, in the hope of rehabilitation into natural habitat where these carnivores can live 'wild' without threatening human life, but sadly this is often not possible as it is extremely difficult to release captive-held lions that have become semi-habituated. Their hunting skills are instinctive, but due to captivity, they lose their natural respect for humans and could cause loss of human life if released into the wild.

The AfriCat North Lion Sanctuary houses seven lions: one mature lion originating from the Ekongoro Zoo in Rundu, Namibia, which closed in 1997, and six sub-adults rescued from farmland adjacent to the Etosha National Park. The lions are housed in a large 200-acre area where they have sufficient space to live as naturally as possible. Once a year a vet spends a few days at the sanctuary to carry out health examinations on the lions.

It is important to understand that animal welfare supports environmental education where children who are unfamiliar with wild animals are able to see these animals at close quarters and learn to appreciate their beauty and value.

The animals in captivity at AfriCat and AfriCat North provide opportunities to increase awareness of their wild counterparts and their conservation priorities to the children at the Education Centres as well as to foreign visitors to Namibia, but keeping carnivores in captivity for this reason alone is not AfriCat’s philosophy and we hope with the new, 20 000ha Okonjima Rehabilitation Reserve, less carnivores will have to stay in captivity. Conservation is complex: when wild animals compete with humans the solutions are not straight forward. As we learn more, we need to evolve. We are confident that the steps we are taking in 2011 move the cause of the conservation of large carnivores and their habitat forward into the 21st century.

AfriCat started out with a mission statement to "keep wild cats wild", hence 'A free Cat'. Concentrating on Adult and Youth Education, initiating wild Cheetah Research including the help of farmers and evolving the Rehabilitation Project to such an extent that it becomes a worldwide model for Reintroduction, are all in keeping with that early statement.