Shaka's Run

I also just wanted to post a new video of Shaka doing his run. It is a bit of a better view than my first video. He does a shorter distance because he is just young, but he's learning quickly and just loves that lure!!

http://youtu.be/ySdTyfVQnk0

Jasmine and Nala

When we had cheetah time yesterday afternoon we were all commenting on how much Jasmine's belly has grown even in the two weeks I've been here so far! She is due around the 20th of March but is already looking about ready to burst. Everyone has their fingers crossed that that means lots of babies, but it is very hard to tell. I'm guessing 5 but it may be a little ambitious. Estelle has been very busy getting all the baby things ready - bottles, little collars for identification, a new small enclosure for them to play outside, blankets and so on. There haven't been cubs here for a couple of years so it is pretty exciting! 

Unfortunately the pregnancy has meant Jasmine and Nala have started to clash a little bit. They are scrapping with each other fairly regularly, which is why we are trying to work so quickly on getting the new enclosure ready so that Nala can move in and Jasmine can have some space. The new little shelter is hopefully then where Jasmine will have the cubs, though they are building one in all the cheetah camps as well so Nala will get her own :)

I took some new photos of Jasmine to try and give an idea of how big her belly is getting!

And a couple more of Nala, in her new favourite spot on top of the shelter. 

Sunday Afternoon and Climbing Cats

The house feels a lot fuller now with the three new volunteers who arrived on Saturday afternoon. It is great to have some new company and some extra pairs of hands! Gemma, Hannah and Jeff are all lovely and it was nice to get through the jobs a bit quicker this morning. 

Last night we got to do something a bit different. About 20 minutes from the cheetah project is SunWa - Pieter and Estelle's river lodge. The American school group that did a day's work here last week are staying there and doing various activities. One of these was to have an astronomer come in with his telescopes and we were able to organise to join in. We got to go to the lodge early evening and relax first - see the photos below it is an absolutely stunning place. Right on the river. We were also able to eat dinner there which was a bit of a treat, a delicious buffet selection. Then Vince the astronomer first gave a talk and presentation for an hour or so - lots of fascinating stuff about our universe and how far away everything is, as well as just how tiny we really are!!

The time outside with the telescope wasn't as good as it could have been because the moon was amazingly bright which obscured the stars a lot. But we did get a great view of the moon itself, and a look at Jupiter with 4 moons clearly visible, plus various other star clusters and a nebula which was very interesting and cool to see. A really nice way to spend the evening and fun to get out and about!

Here are some photos taken by the lodge:

I also wanted to mention climbing cats! You sometimes read that cheetahs can't climb trees. However that is definitely not true. I've seen Jasmine climb the one in her enclosure a few times, and managed to snap a pic this weekend. I also caught Nala this morning on top of the new shelter that is being built - just enjoying the view! Apparently they are quite fond of leaving poos on top of shelters so we'll have to watch for that now. 

Tessa

I know that my photos are very biased towards the few cheetahs we normally spend time with. It is hard to get some of the others as I don't have many opportunities. However Tessa's enclosure is adjoining Nala and Jasmine's and today Estelle was with her right by the fence. 

Tessa is a funny one. She absolutely adores Estelle and will do anything for her, lets her cuddle her and touch her and seems just like Nala if not more so! However she lets no one else near her. Usually she just keeps her distance altogether, except when it's time to feed. Then her desire for the food wins out, but as soon as you put it down she hisses for you to go away and leave her alone! Apparently many volunteers have decided they'll win her over but none have succeeded!

She is a beautiful girl though. Unfortunately she recently suffered a mange infection on her neck but it is now healing nicely and the fur is starting to grow back. 

Her usual expression when I feed her:

And some more of her looking gorgeous:

Photoshoot with Jade

On a brighter note, we went in with Jade for cheetah time today. She ended up on my lap - largely because of trying to chase my water bottle - and Estelle kindly played photographer for me :) 

I also took some extra photos of her and in the one that is front on you'll be able to see her legs a little more clearly and how they bend out to the sides. I'll also try get some more of her standing up at some point. 

Slaughter Day

*WARNING*

This post comes with a warning. I won't make it too gory but I'm going to tell you a bit about my day. So if you're a bit squeamish or don't really want to know about the topic this might be a post to miss. Room 1 may want to skip this one!

This aspect of the project was what I was most nervous about coming in. I've always said I'd be a hopeless farmer as I'd name all the animals and not want to part with them. I'm also not fond of butcher shops. So I felt today might be a major challenge!

The cheetahs are fed horse and donkey as this most closely resembles their natural diet. Beef is too fatty for them and chicken doesn't have enough nutrients. The horses are sourced from various places and it is always animals that cannot be used anymore - perhaps old or injured. They are brought to the centre already dead but then the whole process is carried out here. Thankfully the volunteers don't have to be involved until it is at the 'meat' stage - though I had to keep my gaze averted a lot of the time as they were still going on the second horse outside once I started working. 

Overall it was far better than I expected. I think it helped that I've already had 2 weeks here - I've already handled the meat, handled dead baby chicks for the servals, handled the big bones and so forth, so it was a bit like a gradual introduction. Essentially it was just a LOT of meat. Two horses were done today and that will feed the cheetahs and Pablo for about 2 weeks. 

My job for most of the morning was cutting small chunks of meat. Before Penny came here she was raised on chunks rather than ground meat so they have kept her diet that way ever since. I worked with Annelise - she lives locally and knows Estelle and is doing some work here - who thankfully had an excellent technique for getting the huge hunks of meat we were given into smaller strips. I then cut them into chunks from there. Turns out the main discomfort of the day was not the confronting nature of the job, but a very sore hand! If you've ever cut meat for an hour and a half straight you'll know what I mean! I have two massive blisters and my hand took a while to uncramp. 

When we were done there we helped weigh the ground meat and put it into bags. It is all portioned out and frozen in separate bags so just the right amount is defrosted every morning. Jade, Shaka and Pablo have their own bags (plus Penny with her chunks) and then a large bag is made for the other cheetahs and we weigh that into their portions daily. 

The smell got to me once or twice and a couple of times I thought too much about what I was actually doing. But on the whole I coped much better than I thought I might - I just switched off and went into autopilot and was more worried about how sore my finger was!! It is a bit of a confronting experience but an essential part of working with cheetahs or other animals, and it does give you a much fuller understanding of the whole process and what is required to care for these creatures. 

Though Penny better be super grateful for those hand cut chunks!

Lion Cuddles

A few extra of me getting to cuddle the adorable little Zeus.