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 p.2 #2 · Cheetah with an attitude, and other not-so-wild African wildlife | |
mabidally wrote:
Your story of a cheetah that is able to kill and survive in the wild yet totally tame with humans to the extent you portray is really unbelievable. Is this a cheetah that was brought up in captivity and later released to the wild? I wonder how she would protect herself from lions, hyena etc when encountered in the wild? South African Wild Life Management has left me with some mixed feelings. On the one hand they do a marvelous and very skilled job with the conservation and captive breeding programs, successfully releasing many species back into the wild, on the other hand, there seems to be too much human intervention. ...Show more →
OwlsEyes wrote:
As a one-time field ecologist (and now biology educator) I can recall the conflict that I felt when visiting the Vince Schutte "wildlife sanctuary" in Orr, MN.... Having just returned from a 14 day safari in Tanzania I now have an even greater appreciation for the wildness that once defined this planet. While I am glad that the sanctuary you visited exists to preserve and restock the diminishing wild species on our planet, I am very saddened that a place like this one is needed to secure the future of South Africa's megafauna.
These thoughtful and insightful comments hit the nail on the head! I left with deeply mixed feelings about visiting Tshukudu. First, I should mention that I went there because I arrived 2 days too early for a horseback safari and was looking for someplace "different" to spend 2 nights, for not too much money. I knew that Tshukudu ran a lion breeding program, which I found quite interesting, but I didn't know ahead of time about the lion walks or the cheetah.
I have to be honest. Having the opportunity to touch a lion (who growled!!), a cheetah (who purred!!), and a caracal (who chewed on my shoes!!) was, well, amazing. I don't think I'll ever forget these experiences.
On the other hand, this was my first experience with South Africa's highly managed system of private reserves, and it was so, so different than being in the truly wild places that I've been fortunate enough to visit over the past dozen years. I think that the simple reality for a highly populated country like South Africa is that for any reserve (particularly a "big five" reserve) to maintain a healthy and balanced population of game, they need to know how many predators they have, how many elephants, and roughly how much plains game is in the reserve, and most reserve actively manage the numbers of all three. If a reserve has too many lions, they transfer some to a reserve that has too few. 8000 hectares space can only support a finite number of elephants, rhinos, etc. The advantage is that there are more animals for people to see, more places to visit, and (yes) more places to hunt big game. So the breeding programs make a lot of sense for both conservation and economics.
"Savannah" the cheetah and the lion cub used for lion walks are clearly exceptional - most animals on these reserves are wild. They feed/hunt for themselves and can be quite dangerous. Savannah was orphaned when she was a cub and was then raised by humans; she is now totally free to come and go as she pleases, to hunt, and even to be killed or injured by the resident (wild) lions and hyenas. Indeed, when I visited, two male cheetahs had gotten into the Tshukudu reserve and the staff there were hoping that Savannah might find herself a mate and have cubs of her own! All that said, she appears to enjoy the company of humans and chooses actively to come to the lodge, where she is (obviously) a huge hit. In my opinion, the lion cub is a different story -- "lion walks" are becoming a popular tourist attraction in southern Africa, and this cub was removed from her mother. I was told that the cub showed some genetic defects that were likely the result of inbreeding, with the implication that the mother was rejecting the cub. In any case, there is apparently a big tourist demand for lion walks -- I personally will not seek these out in the future, and I definitely don't want to visit places where wild animals are fed people food!!
Although I won't be posting many pictures from my horseback safari on a nearby reserve (mainly because I was riding, not shooting!!), I must say that my experience there with the owners, who are thoughtful and dedicated conservationists, showed me the best possible side of managed reserves in South Africa. Philip and Gerti Kuseler are completely dedicated to maintaining a "big five" reserve in which the animals are wild and their numbers are sustainable - which takes active, thoughtful management. They have several scientific projects that are ongoing, looking at predator behavior and predator-prey ecological interactions. The gameviewing in this reserve is exciting and real, even though the reserve is fenced. So it **can** be done well!
So, there you have my two cents about game reserves - and all that said, I was really happy to have a chance to take these pictures!!
Susan
Edited on Jul 03, 2008 at 05:52 PM
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I love the porcupine and jackal shots. It looks like their sizes are mixed up to me..like the jackals should be bigger, haha. I guess I haven't realized how big porcupines are, considering I've never seen one in the wild. Pretty cool!
?? Just WAIT til the next time we're out shooting together. I will get some images (of someone we both know and one of whom is listed as correspondent here) that will be the talk of FM for months to come!!!!!!!
