A visit to the cheetah preserve

This past Friday (April 27) was Freedom Day here in RSA. This year marks the 18th anniversary of the new democracy.  With a long weekend, Jon and I spent Friday doing a little work (grading papers for me and answering emails for Jon), a little shopping and caught a movie (The Avengers).  Saturday we drove about an hour north of Jo'burg toward Hartebeesport Dam and to the Ann van Dyk Cheetah Centre. You can visit the link to learn more about the Centre's work.  The Centre began over 40 years ago with a woman who turned her family's vegetable farm into a safe haven for cheetahs and other local wild animals who were being wiped out by farmers trying to protect their livestock.  It has since become a renowned centre for rehabilitating specifically cheetahs, wild dogs and several types of birds - mostly cranes and vultures.  We spent four hours there watching the cheetahs run in a specialized area where they can stretch their legs.  It was an incredible sight!  They are the fastest creatures on earth, hitting speeds of 120 km per hour (75 miles per hour). We then toured the facility, learning so many interesting facts about all the wild animals on the preserve and how saving them from extinction is vital to the eco-system. 

One of the most important missions of the Centre is their education program.  They have a 9-year-old cheetah named Byron that they estimate has been petted by over 100,000 children in SA. Byron travels to schools who cannot afford to come to the Centre and acts as a ambassador teaching children the importance of conservation.  We got to pet Yates, Byron's replacement, who is currently in training.  We got to pet him and you cannot believe the purring!  It was so deep and his whole body rumbled.  It was an amazing experience!

Petting Yates, an ambassador-in-training

the beautiful markings on one of the wild dogs