E-letter, June 2006

CCF Supporters' E-Letter
June 2006

Dr. Laurie Marker's Field Notes
June 2006

Dear Cheetah Friends,

I do hope that the past few months have found you healthy, busy and productive. From CCF's side, I can report that all continues to be busy here in Namibia. I have just returned from my 2006 Spring Tour which began in the US the beginning of April with numerous meetings and fund-raising events for CCF. After recuperating from hip surgery in January, it was great to travel pain-free for the first time in a couple of years!

On the road in the USA

My travels took me first to Washington, DC where I met with many legislators updating them on the progress of our Bush Project, including USAID which has supported this program. The International Conservation Caucus and CCF Trustee David Barron arranged a field trip for 20 legislative staffers to travel to the National Zoo's Conservation and Research Center (CRC) in Fort Royal, VA to showcase the long-standing relationship between CCF and CRC CRC SI group , and to discuss in depth our fields of education and reproductive science as it relates to the wild cheetah. In addition, I attended a birthday party for the National Zoo's first litter of cheetah cubs, and a small private dinner hosted by our DC Chapter and Sally Davidson at her landmark Washington restaurant, 1789, to thank some of our most important cheetah friends. I'd like to thank Suzi Rapp and Brian Greene from the Columbus Zoo for bringing their ambassador cheetah Kagio to a private birthday party for another of our special cheetah supporters. And, also to Susan Babson who drove the Audi Cheetah Car to the first annual Cheetah Soiree BBQ in Boyce, Virginia hosted by the von Hassells and CCF's new Board member, Moses Thompson.

I must mention also what a wonderful and unique visit I had with The Madeira School in Virginia, as the guest speaker for their annual Earth Day assembly. With the help of CCF supporter Katherine Kies, who is a student at this private girls' school, and her Science Department, they put on a special fund-raising event with their own designed T-shirt line to raise funds for the cheetah. It was wonderful to lecture and spread the cheetah message to so many enthusiastic young ladies!

During my tour, I gave many lectures at universities and colleges across the United States. If you had a chance to follow my schedule on the CCF web site, www.cheetah.org, you would have noticed that I traveled to Syracuse University in New York, the University of Knoxville in Tennessee, North Carolina State University, Occidental College in California and Colorado College, where I was a part of their Innovation Lecture series. Disney Animal Kingdom keepers It was a great pleasure for me to be back on the college campuses again spreading the mission of CCF and increasing our awareness to the students on the university level while creating future partnerships for CCF Namibia. I also visited several zoos and met with cheetah keepers and education staff, including Disney's Wild Kingdom, in Florida and the San Antonio Zoo in Texas.

Our CCF Chapter Heads in California, Phoenix, Washington, DC, Oregon, and Colorado were also very productive with awareness raising and fund-raising benefits running in several states this spring. The Dicely's cheetahs from Leopards, Etc. were on hand too for an Orvis event in Reno, Nevada and Richard Goold for the Northern California Chapter's spring donors' party. Seeing a live cheetah helps bring the reality of why CCF's programs to save the species in the wild need to continue to grow.

Team at Run The second Run for the Cheetah took place in Phoenix, Arizona under the direction of CCF Chapter Head, Claudia Whitehead, and her great team, many from the Phoenix Zoo, where I again gave a public lecture. This year's run was a huge success doubling both the number of runners and the amount of donations to CCF from last year. Don't miss the opportunity to sign up for Portland's Run for the Cheetah and a new Run in Washington, DC coming this fall. For details and to register please visit: www.runforthecheetah.org.

Kids Run for the Cheetah

While in New York, I had the opportunity to be invited to Earthwatch Institute's 35th Birthday and Earth Day Celebration at the American Museum of Natural History. Earthwatch's many accomplishments have been made possible through their dedicated volunteers and sponsors that support more than 150 projects from around the world. We are so grateful to this organization and its association with CCF and the science community, as over 250 Earthwatch volunteers have helped cheetahs in the wild at our field base in Namibia. Our volunteers from around the world continue to be the heart and soul of CCF, and I was glad to see so many past volunteers and students as I traveled around the country.

The UK and Ireland

Scotland I was also in the UK from May 8th to the 15th for our third annual Cheetah Week! My tour started at the beautiful Edinburgh Zoo, where I gave an illustrated presentation on cheetahs, and an update on the conservation work going on to protect them. After the talk, Carol Barrett, a fantastic wildlife artist, held an auction which included several original pieces of her cheetah art that raised quite a bit of money for CCF's programs.

London Back in London, I attended a private view of "Wild at Art" organized by the Friends of Conservation UK in support of the Cheetah Conservation Fund. The show showcased artworks by artist Jan Coutts, who has exhibited extensively since graduating in 1994. Her wildlife portraits convey a sense of freedom, power and survival. It was a great opportunity to see old friends, and meet new ones.

Then, a stop at the London Zoo to meet with colleagues, and on to Oxford to meet with more colleagues at the University of Oxford's WildCru, and to give a lecture at the all-boys' Summer Fields School.

Noel's Fundraising Family UK I then traveled on to Surrey for the Cheetah Party of the Year hosted by Noel and Paula Boyd. Noel has been a cheetah friend of ours for a long time, and on this occasion he celebrated his 60th birthday by asking guests to make a donation to CCF. The party was incredible with three bands, African dancers and everyone in themed safari costumes of some sort, ending a great evening with a huge auction that raised funds for CCF's activities.

Before returning home to Namibia, I made a stop in Ireland to give talks at FOTA Wildlife Park in County Cork, and another one in Waterford for the Irish Wildlife Trust. FOTA has been one of the most successful cheetah breeding facilities in Europe, and I continue to see why, as the cheetahs are enclosed in large natural settings. Thanks so much to everyone at CCF UK and Friends of Conservation UK for all their efforts in putting this tour together.

Back home in Namibia

I just arrived back in Namibia where I was greeted by 25 emerging farmers who were completing a week-long course in integrated livestock and predator management conducted by our CCF staff under Bonnie Schumann's direction. Other staff members have filled me in on CCF's activities including our census project conducted by Matti and Fabiano; and, congratulations to Josephine for her recent graduation from the University of Namibia with her Master's degree. Three other Namibia Polytech interns are finishing up their six-month research projects. All CCF's resident cheetahs, livestock guarding dogs and livestock are also doing well.

My next travels will be to Kenya to visit with Mary Wykstra and her cheetah team. She has made great strides in the Kenya cheetah census. We appreciate the support from the Cincinnati Zoo, Angel Fund, and all our CCF supporters in the Netherlands.

A BIG THANK YOU, as always, to all our supporters worldwide for your help in saving the wild cheetah. Hope that you saw my recent interview on CNN. If not, click here to view.

Yours on behalf of the cheetah,
Laurie signature
Laurie Marker, PhD
Founder and Executive Director
Cheetah Conservation Fund

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