Disappearing Cheetahs Find Help in So. Africa
The fastest animals on Earth are running out of time.
April 6, 2008 — -- The cheetah — fastest animal on Earth — is running out of time. Though cheetahs can reach 45 miles per hour in just 3 seconds, they have slowly been dying out.
They are victims to farmers who need to keep their own livestock alive, and with cheetahs around searching for dinner, that can be difficult. The cheetahs get shot, and end up casualties so that farmers can save their own animals.
But the De Wildt Cheetah Center outside Johannesburg, South Africa is a refuge for the speedy cats. Workers there are trying to help save the species; there are only 1,000 left in South Africa today.
"They will not confront a leopard, even a vulture can chase away cheetahs," says executive director Vanessa Bezuidenhout. "So, they are much more fragile than any of the big cats."
They do everything they can to help cheetahs survive, sometimes even giving money to farmers in exchange for a promise not to shoot them.
More than 750 cubs have been born at the center but they do not spend their lives in captivity. The organization eventually releases the cheetahs into the wild, first putting them on hundreds of acres surrounded by a fence. They call it an outdoor halfway house — a place where the trainers can make sure the cheetahs haven't lost their hunting skills before they are fully released to fend for themselves in the wild.
Still, of the 148 cheetahs that have been released, only 60 percent have survived. To track them, the center puts a collar on every cheetah, equipped with a GPS system so workers can keep track of the cheetah's every move.
For now, cheetahs are still on the endangered species list. But, luckily for them, they have help in South Africa in their race against time.
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