In January 2004 I volunteered for a group called Cheetah Conservation Botswana. I lived in Botswana, Africa for a month with three other volunteers. Two were from Australia and one was from France.  Being that the CCB had started its organization the previous October, we had a variety of tasks to undertake to help get the organization up and running. Some of these included: creating an accurate map of the campsite and surrounding game park, building a sterile lab facility, locating and marking exit and entry points along the fence line of the park, and establishing relationships with farmers in the surrounding areas. We also set up live bait traps to catch cheetahs. A farmer would lend us a goat to put in a trap to lure the cheetahs. The goat was kept in a separate compartment next to the trap for the cheetah but safe from harm. We took care of the goat as a pet, he got food and water twice a day and exercise. After we trapped some Cheetahs, he was returned to the farmer. Our group was very fortunate in that we trapped a total of 8 cheetahs during our time. One, named Jenny had already been through the program. She was already collared, however, she had some cubs. We trapped them, mother wouldn't be far behind. We ended up trapping the whole family.  The cubs were too young to put radio collars on so we were only able to get DNA samples, and do exams on them before releasing them. Our days also started and ended with radio tracking to get an idea on where the cheetahs were in the park. In the Picture Gallery you can see several pictures from my experience with the CCB. Lewtotse and Dumas are two resident cheetahs of Mokolodi, a reservation for wildlife in Gabarone, Botswana. The other pictures are of the cubs we trapped. They were about 6 months old.

If you are interested in becoming a volunteer, or if you would like to make a donation to Cheetah Conservation Botswana please email me. dana@peacefulpets.net