Okay, this is it … I had to get up at 4 in the morning to get my plane at 6 am. The last four weeks were exceptional. It was the time between the course and my practical placement in Namibia and I spent this time with a close friend. We got to know each other during the course and had spent the last weeks together. For the last month he was mainly the only person I had seen or talked to. For the previous 4 months, the only people I had been in contact with were my instructors and my 19 course colleagues. I never imagined how intense this all is. But today I was standing here at the airport and saying good-bye to my friend. In front of me was a two-hours flight, a four-hours drive and a six-month apprenticeship. It felt very weird and confusing.
Waving good-bye was quite hard. A mix of sadness, melancholy, emptiness, excitement and curiosity took over and a lot of things were going through my mind during the hours of the journey. And all of a sudden, I arrived at CCF (Cheetah Consesrvation Fund), my station for the coming months.
I was welcomed by one of the staff members and she showed me my room. While I expected a bed in a dormitory, she lead me to a little rondavel and told me that this is gonna be my home for the next time. I was stunned. These rondavel are simple but have all you need. I instantly loved it!
After a short break where I could make myself comfortable in the rondavel, I was shown around and explained how the timeschule for the coming days will be. And in comparison the last months, this timeschedule is hillariously comfortable:
07:00 Breakfast
07:30 Work begins (on tasks & projects)
12:00 Lunch
13:00 Work continues (on tasks & projects)
17:00 End of workday
18:30 Dinner
And with that, I was left alone for the rest of the day and had some time to explore the new environment and I used the time to stroll around and have a look into the museum and visitor centre to get a bit of an insight of what CCF is about.
What is CCF?
CCF is commited to protect cheetahs. This is done in a very diverse way. Of cours there are those cheetahs that come to CCF, either confiscated, orphaned, hurt or captured by farmes cause they catch their livestock. Those cheetahs either stay on CCF (in case they can´t be rewildered) or they are relocated to another property. Conservation, Education & Research are the main pillars of CCF. I am not sure yet what this all includes but while walking around, I already found the following:
CCF runs a Model Farm that raises sheep, cattle, and goats and uses this farm as a tool to research and deploy predator-friendly farming methods, including herd and veld management as well as proper animal husbandry. Besides the farm itself, there is also a creamery on the property, where goat milk products are produced, such as different types of cheese, fudge, ice cream or soap.
CCF runs a Livestock Guiding Dog Program that breeds Anatolian shepherd and Kangal dogs. Those kind of dogs have guarded small livestock against wolves and bears in Turkey, but also have a history in Africa as guard dogs. The dogs are placed with Namibian farmers as puppies, grow up and bond with the herd. With their imposing presence and loud bark, they scare away potential predators which in turn allows the predators to live freely on the farmer’s land.
CCF runs a Veterinary Clinic is right here on the property but as I heard, there is a specific team and veterinary students here to deal with the tasks in the clinic. I am quite happy to not be involved here. My panic to needles would not be very helpful I assume.
CCF runs a Scat Detection Dog Program with the purpose to collect scat (fecal) samples from wild cheetahs through the most non-invasive means necessary. The dogs are trained to search for cheetah scat out in the field and the samples are then collected and analyzed by CCF’s genetics lab where DNA is extracted and analyzed to determine the identity of the cheetah the scat came from. The scat is also used to determine what the cheetah is eating.
From what I have seen and read up to now, this might become very interesting. There are a lot of interesting programs going on here and I am curious to learn all about it.
But I am tired now. It was a long day with a lot of emotions and impressions. I will sleep well, with the great view from my bed into the night sky and I am looking forward to an awesome sunrise that, as well, can be seen from the same spot. But I also miss my friend, my study colleagues and the bush.
Everything is new here and it does not feel comfortable yet, but with a look to the night sky, I see Orion with Taurus and the Pleiades, Sirius and the Milky Way, and all of a sudden, it feels a bit less scary.
Boa noite,
Sininho
Sininho´s World 
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