|  I
have just had the honour of becoming well acquainted with
some of Africa's most regal inhabitants, and in turn made
firm friend with both the cheetahs and the small team of
dedicated people who have, in the last ten years enabled
around 400 big cats to be returned to the wild, having been
trapped, hunted, raised as orphans, injured and otherwise
requiring human help to return to their natural homes.
The
brainchild of Wayne Hansen, Africat began purely by chance
when he stumbled upon firstly a niche in the tourist market
for close encounters with wild cats and secondly the need
that many of these big cats have of our help, things developed
from a small start and now Africat is a Namibian foundation,
a non profit organisation, whose sole aim is to explore
conservation possibilities and help large cats, predominantly
cheetahs in the years that Africat has been running, they
have grown in leaps and bounds, often finding that the work
and time required to do what they need is way beyond their
limits.
With
a team consisting of Carla Conradie, who originally came
to do the bookkeeping, and ended up being "mum"
to a huge variety of hairy children, her dedication and
love for the animals is evident, and Dave Houghton, brought
to Africat through his skill as a wildlife cameraman,
he arrived to do a documentary and never left! These two
dedicated people are inspiring in themselves, living a
simple lifestyle, surrounded by nearly 100 cats that would
possibly not have lived had it not been for them; they
work tirelessly to get the cats back into the wild where
possible, and provide great conditions for those who will
always be dependant.
I visited Africat with some safari guests some time
ago, while I had often heard of the work that they do,
I had never really had a close look, I was so inspired
by the dedication and the great work that they are doing,
that I felt the need to help, its an awesome way of
putting something back into the wildlife that for the
whole of my life has treated me so well...those of you
who have been with me on safari have seen some of the
most amazing sights that nature spreads before us and
it is humbling to be in a position where one can put
some of that back.
|
If
you would like to help with any of the projects
that I am raising money for on their behalf,
please contact me by clicking
here.
If you would like to learn more about Africat, please go
to www.africat.org
Please note that all my work for Africat is on a voluntary
basis and 100% of any donation you pledge will get directly
to the heart of a needy cheetah!!
 Here
is a picture of the Addams family, Gomez, Wednesday, Morticia
and Pugsley!!...4 cheetahs whose mother was shot and then
the farmer realized she was pregnant, the four full term
foetuses were brought in and I think you will agree look
like pretty healthy happy cats now as they near their 2nd
birthday, quite a feat to have 100% success in the rearing
of such young animals, they are but 4 of the 80 cheetahs
that they have at Africat today. |
