SIFAKA BLOG

There are a lot of ups and downs in helping animals survive. Here is a very good example. Recently we released 4 long-time captive female cheetahs into our very large game camp here in Africa. The camp is a safe place where these females can learn to hunt. If they are successful, they can be returned to the wild. To return a captive cheetah to the wild—long thought impossible—is a MAJOR accomplishment!

We had no time to celebrate the release of our 4 female cheetahs. That same day we received 4 very young orphaned cubs that were scared, filthy and underweight.











Our Cheetah Conservation Fund staff went to work. The second photo here shows how the cubs are now healthy-looking.












But the fencing in the background of the photo is a sad reminder that because the cubs were orphaned so young, they may never be able to be released back into the wild.

Working to save cheetahs from extinction is often a two-steps-forward, one-step-back process. But we remain determined to continue our march until there is a large healthy cheetah population living in the wild.