Feed Orphan Cheetahs in Namibia

As part of the relocation from farmland process, CCF collects cheetahs trapped on farmland, performs medical workups on them, and then releases them in less human-populated areas. Some cheetahs, however, cannot survive in the wild due to injury or being orphaned at too young an age and must remain at CCF where they can be fed and cared for.

Dr. Laurie Marker with Chewbaaka, or Chewie, CCF’s cheetah ambassador. Chewie was rescued by Laurie when he was only two weeks old and extremely ill. At 13 years old, Chewie is now the king of CCF and one of about 50 resident cheetahs at CCF.

CCF staff toss meat to a group of cheetahs in one of CCF’s large enclosures. Captive cheetahs are kept in conditions as close to wild as possible, in the hopes that the animals will not become human-habituated and eventually can be returned to the wild.

More and more often, CCF is receiving litters of young cubs whose mother has been killed by a farmer. CCF staff must hand-raise cubs this young, who become habituated to humans and must remain in captivity for the rest of their lives.