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Day 2, De Wildt Cheetah and Wildlife Center, South Africa - What a thrill it was to visit a place where conservation, breeding and reintroduction of indigenous endangered species back to their natural habitat is the focus. Over the years, nearly 500 cheetah cubs have been born at De Wildt. The center also provides educational resources for the public. This baby cheetah is domesticated enough that visitors may pet it when accompanied by a staff member. |
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Cheetahs aren't the only animals being raised at De Wildt. Today, many endangered animals reside there including brown hyaenas, wild dogs, servals, civets, bat-eared foxes, blue duiker, suni antelope, riverine rabbits and seven species of owl. On our tour of the facility we saw many different animals including ostrich (pictured right) and various species of vulture. I was left with the feeling that this was a thriving facility, in the midst of expansion and much deserved success. |
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Wild dogs are absolutely not related to domestic dogs. They can not be tamed, period. Reserves such as De Wildt provide a center for research but also serve as a population nucleus should animals in the wild, such as the large populations located at Kruger National Park become decimated by disease. This would end up being my only wild dog encounter during my stay, however, we did get a chance to meet perhaps the continent's foremost researcher on wild dogs later at Chitabe Camp in Botswana. |
