Namibia Big Cat conservation
How this holiday makes a difference
Environment
This trip is the perfect example of responsible tourism working hand in hand with conservation. By joining the trip not only are you helping to fund AfriCat's annual big cat health check up but you are also assisting on a personal level to help make the event a success.
The annual health examinations of the cheetahs at AfriCat give invited specialist veterinarians the opportunity to conduct research on various aspects of animal health, particularly those relating to the health of large carnivores in captivity. As well as providing expert information on the health of AfriCat’s animals, the examinations also allow for the comparison of results with similar studies being conducted on large carnivores in other captive facilities. Some of this information can also be used to gain insight into the health of large carnivores in the wild.
The data that is collected from each animal that moves through the AfriCat programme is recorded in a database that allows for easy access to information either on a particular cat or when providing statistics on these carnivores to researchers around the world. The data from the captured cheetahs and leopards, i.e. where each animal was captured, its characteristics, such as gender, age, etc., gives us some idea as to the geographical distribution and demographics of the wild cheetah and leopard populations living on Namibian farmland.
The biological samples (blood, serum and hair) can be used for various studies with analysis results potentially giving us insight into the health, as well as the genetic make-up of Namibia’s wild cheetah and leopard populations.
This operator has raised significant funds in support of the world’s leading wildlife and conservation agencies and has increased awareness of conservation through the holidays it offers. Furthermore they have voluntarily spearheaded collective action campaigns such as Travel Operators for Tigers in South Asia and continue to work with conservation initiatives on the ground to provide much needed funds and to give clients a privileged insight into this crucial work.
Community
The second part of this tour is based at Kavita Lion Lodge which is Africat’s northern headquarters in Namibia and is dedicated to the conservation and protection of the wild lion in Namibia. From here you will be introduced to Africat North’s Human Wildlife Conflict Mitigation Project, working with local farmers along the boundary of Etosha National Park. A member of the Africat team will give an overview of the research and monitoring programmes being conducted at the Carnivore Care Centre, where rescued lions and leopards have a home.
On Day 8 of the trip the emphasis is on meeting local communities to better understand what it means to live with the constant threat of human-wildlife conflict. You will visit a Livestock Protection Project in the Khoa di Hoas and Ehi-Rovipuka communal conservancies which lie on the western border of Etosha. Here, you will meet with community leaders and farming families and see first-hand the challenges faced by these people in protecting livestock from predators. Africat are helping these communities with building mobile kraals to better protect livestock from night time attacks. Instead of predator removal as a method of conflict mitigation, AfriCat now offers farmers a variety of effective farm-management techniques to better protect their livestock. In this way, farmers are encouraged to become predator tolerant and most of the resident predators remain in place. Currently, Africat is in the process of establishing the Communal Carnivore Conflict Project and so there maybe the opportunity to escort their Recovery Unit on a patrol.
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