http://allafrica.com/stories/201207060773.html


Namibia: Rescued Cheetahs Shot Dead in the South
By Tanja Bause, 5 July 2012



THREE cheetahs known as the Chipmunks, which were released into the wild in the South, have been shot dead.

This is one of the downsides of conservation, according to Dr Rudi van Vuuren, the director of the N/a'an ku se Foundation, who was responsible for their release.

The three male cheetahs Alwyn and Theodore (both two-and-a-half years old) and Simon (three years old) were released in the Sandfontein Reserve belonging to Willie Agenbach last year.

"All three cheetahs were fitted with GPS tracking collars and we monitored them every day. The release had been successful and the cheetahs were doing well. Eventually they wandered onto the Silwerstroom property of Bertus Fokkens where unfortunately they were unnecessarily shot by farm manager Dawie Olivier. We believe that they were then fed to the workers," said Van Vuuren.

The cheetahs were wild and not used to people and as far as could be determined they were not involved in the killing of livestock.

"We were very disappointed when we got the news from Agenbach. All the time, money and passion we had invested in these three cats were destroyed by human ignorance," said Van Vuuren.

"However, we remain positive about carnivore conservation and focus our time and resources on famers and landowners who want to conserve and want to farm in ways that benefit both them and the animals, and trust me, there are many of them."

There are success stories of farmers and wild animals living together in harmony, as is the case with a leopard called Lightning.

"We released Lightning, a female leopard that had previously come into conflict with humans in the central part of Namibia, although we could not prove that she was in fact a problem animal and there was no evidence that she indeed had killed livestock. In collaboration with Dr Nad Brain from Wilderness Safaris we released her in the Kulala Reserve in December 2009. Now, two and a half years later, she has made her home on Tsauchab River Camp of Johan Steyn."

Steyn, previously a livestock farmer, now focuses on using his land for tourism, and recently two of his guests spotted a leopard with two cubs. Steyn sent the photos the tourists took through to Van Vuuren who positively identified the leopard as Lightning by the collar she had on.

"It was like a conservation fairytale," said Van Vuuren.

quote:

farmers and wild animals living together in harmony ... ... ... a conservation fairytale,"

They got that right!

As one Namibian PH/farmer put it..."if we come across a cheetah, you shoot it. Or I will."

If an animal isn't an asset, it's a liability.

Something the tree humpers can't understand.

quote:

Originally posted by Ongwe:
As one Namibian PH/farmer put it..."if we come across a cheetah, you shoot it. Or I will."

If an animal isn't an asset, it's a liability.

Something the tree humpers can't understand.

Been my experience also!

quote:

Originally posted by Ongwe:
As one Namibian PH/farmer put it..."if we come across a cheetah, you shoot it. Or I will."

If an animal isn't an asset, it's a liability.

Something the tree humpers can't understand.

I have had the same experience, but in Botswana.

I wonder how they would know one way or the other if they killed any livestock or not? Are we to believe that a cheetah can be trained to kill this but not kill that?

Perhaps the folks that gave them the cutsie little names in hopes of a happily-ever-after ending forgot to leave out bowls of food for them one weekend, resulting in them wandering off to the wrong pasture.

It is certainly sad to see these animals shot, but you can’t blame the farmer! The fault lies with the idiot who released these three cats into areas where ranching, and farming operations depend on livestock to make a living!

It is people who release these animals in this kind of areas who are responsible for their death. A predator is a natural hunter of prey animals to make his living. Livestock, though domesticated by man is still a prey animal, and any large predator released among livestock will naturally prey on them! So! IMO the ignorance belongs to Dr. Rudi Van Vuuren, not the rancher who was simply protecting his livelihood.

No hunter wants any animal to go extinct, but some need to be contained in their own habitat for their own good. The cheetah is on it’s way out to natural extinction because of a dead gene pool. Every cheetah in existence today share the same gene pool, and no species can survive long with a handicap like that. SO! If the cheetah is to survive as a species it must be contained away from livestock where it can do no harm till it naturally fades away, as it surely will, sooner or later!

.....................................................................................................................

quote:

It is certainly sad to see these animals shot, but you can’t blame the farmer! The fault lies with the idiot who released these three cats into areas where ranching, and farming operations depend on livestock to make a living!

It is people who release these animals in this kind of areas who are responsible for their death. A predator is a natural hunter of prey animals to make his living. Livestock, though domesticated by man is still a prey animal, and any large predator released among livestock will naturally prey on them! So! IMO the ignorance belongs to Dr. Rudi Van Vuuren, not the rancher who was simply protecting his livelihood.

No hunter wants any animal to go extinct, but some need to be contained in their own habitat for their own good. The cheetah is on it’s way out to natural extinction because of a dead gene pool. Every cheetah in existence today share the same gene pool, and no species can survive long with a handicap like that. SO! If the cheetah is to survive as a species it must be contained away from livestock where it can do no harm till it naturally fades away, as it surely will, sooner or later!

Damn fine post Mac.

That should be officially made Rule One when ANYONE decides to take ANY animal ANYWHERE to release it.

It is the Well Intentioned but Naive individuals that cause the poroblems. They decide to do something, that with just a little bit of research, they would find is not going to work no matter how noble their intentions.

Releasing any animal, predator or not, into an area of heavy agricultural use is not going to do real well and it does not require a mensa candidate to explain that. Putting anything, anywhere, where competition or perceived competition with humans may arise and the critter is going to come out on the short end of the stick and that is the way it has been since Day One of human existance.

simple solution is to open hunting for them, put a trophy fee out there giving them more value.
duh - where have i heard that before?