By Lucia Mopp
Six cheetah cubs hand-reared at the Cheetah Outreach in Stellenbosch for the past three months are ready to thrill the public.
The cubs, four males and two females sent to Cheetah Outreach when they were only 10 days old, are to be joined by two male cubs next week. Among them is a rare king cheetah that has prominent dark lines and spots and is one of only 22 in South Africa.
Cheetah Outreach, in partnership with the De Wildt Cheetah and Wildlife Trust near Pretoria, is working to educate people about the significance of these endangered wild cats.
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| 'We train them to be ambassador cats' |
De Wildt Cheetah and Wildlife Trust is the only body that is registered with the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites) to breed wild cats. Many of the cubs it breeds are sent to Cheetah Outreach to be reared.
Heidi Moller, assistant manager of Cheetah Outreach, said two of its adult cats had been taken to Western Cape schools, educating 17 000 pupils last year in an outreach programme.
"We train them to be ambassador cats. We rear them and send them to facilities all over the world," she said.
When the cubs are nine months old, two are to be sent to Auckland, New Zealand, and two to The Ark in the United States.
- This article was originally published on page 4 of Cape Times on September 16, 2005
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