Nov. 27, 2012 - Cheetah Park, Namibia

Nov. 27, 2012 Cheetah Park, Namibia

We have a long day of driving today.  We woke early and left camp at 6:10 to get to the Etosha Park gates at opening time in hopes of seeing a hunt.

We did see some lions looking like they might catch an antelope.  They gave up and just started playing with each other instead.  Shucks!

THEN before we hit camp we stopped at the cheetah park.  It's a sanctuary for cheetahs that otherwise would have been shot by farmers.  These cheetahs kill their livestock and are a menace.  This park offers and alternative and traps the animals and then keeps them in enclosures so they can live out their lives.

There are 18 or so cheetahs or so at the park. 11 have been captured as adults.  1 of the adults had 4 cubs, they are almost 6 months old.  3 of the cheetahs were captured as babies and have been raised by humans. One of the cubs had a bad leg so it also is being raised by humans.  These 4 are tame enough for people to touch.  And of course, I had to pet them.  They are like  big house cats...big big house cats.  When I started petting their head and ears they would start purring.   There hair feels a bit wiry yet soft.  The cub was very playful.  He thought one of the girls' skirts was a toy and was playing tug of war with her.  It left some teeth marks in her favorite skirt but I think it makes a great story.

That evening we also were able to watch the wild cheetahs be fed.  Donkey was on the menu for the day.  The cheetah park guys loaded us up into the bed of a pick up and drove us right into the enclosures WITH the live wild cats!  They parked in the enclosure and tossed huge chunks of meat towards all the cats.   The cheetahs jumped to catch the meat, ran off and started munching.

The group had a big BBQ that night for dinner. We all bought our own meat and the crew provided all sides and wine.

A couple of us went with the cheetah park guys on a night game drive with a high power flashlight.  Only saw a hyena on this trip.

Scorpions are beginning to show up.  EEkk.

What I have learned:
Predators hunt more in the evenings and mornings.
Cheetahs are one of the only cats that dont have retractable claws.