University of Ulster Researcher Visits Cheetah Conservation Fund
A University of Ulster researcher has just returned from something of a busman’s holiday in Namibia, the ‘cheetah capital of the world’.
Dr Anne Bridgen, a bioimaging lecturer at the Coleraine campus of the University of Ulster, spent her summer holidays as a volunteer worker at the CCF International Research and Education Centre Otjiwarongo in Northern Namibia learning about different approaches being taken to conserve this endangered species.
“Every day the cheetahs get two kilos of meat which is thrown at them from the back of a truck. The cheetahs know the meat is on its way so they are always ready to chase after it - it’s not quite as hair-raising as it sounds,” explained Dr Bridgen.
The Fund is currently setting up a genetics laboratory to compare individual cheetahs by their DNA content and Dr Bridgen was on hand to give professional advice.
Looking to the future, she would like to see the links between UU and the CCF Research and Education Centre being formalised as she believes such links would be mutually beneficial.
The Cheetah Conservation Fund UK is a UK registered charity, number 1079874
Make Cheques payable to: Cheetah Conservation Fund UK. P O Box 151,
Godalming, Surrey GU7 2XW, UK
email: uk@cheetah.org;
tel: +(44) (0) 1483 427526.