Traveling through Southern Africa (Part9) - Otjitotongwe Cheetah Farm

Estimates put the worldwide cheetah population at less than 7,500 cheetahs of which 6,000 are in Southern Africa.  Nearly half of those cheetahs are in Namibia, mostly on private game or cattle farms.  Unfortunately, some farmers continue to hunt cheetah because of their tendency to kill livestock. The Otjitotongwe cheetah farm gives sanctuary to those cheetahs that farmers might otherwise kill.

On the 7,000-hectare farm, there are both wild and tame cheetahs.  At present, there are around 13 wild cheetahs that live in a 40 hectare fenced enclosure and 3 tame cheetahs that live at the farmhouse.  The tame cheetah’s role is to educate the public, and visitors to the farm will have the chance to interact with them.

We arrived at Otjitotongwe Cheetah Farm in the early afternoon and drove directly to the farmhouse to meet the Nel family.  Outside, in the fenced backyard, they told us about their struggles with farming in Namibia and their now peaceful coexistence with the cheetahs.  All the while, one of the tame cheetahs weaved between the legs of her owner, looking for affection and purring just like a house cat.  Later, Nel gave us the opportunity to approach and run our hands through her thick soft fur.

After making camp on the farm, we returned to the Nels to join them for the evening feeding of the wild cheetah.  He explained to us that a 40-hectare enclosure could not possibly support the 13 cheetah now taking refuge there, so feeding was a necessity.  We drove into the enclosure in two open trailers with a trashcan full of donkey meat.  The cheetahs heard the truck’s engine and began approaching even before we stopped.  At one point, one of the cats jumped into the back of a trailer.  He seemed more upset by what he had done than the people surrounding him, and immediately jumped back out- no harm done.

Soon, Nel was throwing chunks of meat into the gathering of waiting cheetah.  With each toss, a small fight broke out and abruptly ended with one of the cheetah running into the bush with his prize.  It was an interesting experience, a good photo opportunity, and it did make one realize that the place for wild cheetahs was not on a farm.