“Voices for the Animals” host Dab Steadman talks with Dr. Laurie Marker , the founder & executive director of the Cheetah Conservation Fund…a non-profit organization dedicated to saving wild cheetahs and their habitats. CCF is the global leader in research and conservation of cheetahs.
DR. MARKER IS an OXFORD-EDUCATED CONSERVATION BIOLOGIST & RESEARCH SCIENTIST WHO HAS BEEN WORKING WITH CHEETAHS FOR MORE THAN 40 YEARS…AND IS A LEADING EXPERT in HER FIELD. SHE HAS PUBLISHED MORE THAN 120 SCIENTIFIC PAPERS & HAS RECEIVED MANY PRESTIGIOUS AWARDS FOR HER INNOVATIVE CONSERVATION WORK IN NAMIBIA WHERE THE CCF RESEARCH CENTRE IS LOCATED. IN ADDITION TO HER AFFILATION OVER THE YEARS WITH SEVERAL UNIVERSITIES AND THE SMITHSONIAN, DR. MARKER HAS BEEN FEATURED IN MANY PUBLICATIONS AS WELL , INCLUDING ‘TIME’ MAGAZINE, WHICH NAMED HER A “HERO FOR THE PLANET” .
DR. MARKER WAS INTRODUCED TO CHEETAHS IN THE 1970’S AT THE WILDLIFE SAFARI PARK IN OREGON WHERE SHE TOOK A JOB IN ORDER TO FINANCE HER NEARBY GRAPE-GROWING BUSINESS …AND HAD THE OPPORTUNITY THERE TO HAND-RAISE A CAPTIVE-BORN CHEETAH NAMED "KHAYAM". WITH THE PLIGHT OF WILD CHEETAHS BECOMING INCREASING DIRE, DR. MARKER PROPOSED A RESEARCH PROJECT THAT WOULD CHANGE HER LIFE FOREVER. IN 1977, SHE & KHAYAM RE-LOCATED TO A REMOTE AREA OF NAMIBIA TO UNDERTAKE A FIRST-OF-ITS KIND "RE-WILDING" RESEARCH PROJECT. THIS PROJECT PROVED SUCCESSFUL AND ALSO GAVE HER INSIGHT AS TO THE MAJOR CAUSE OF CHEETAH DEATHS IN NAMIBIA: THEY WERE BEING KILLED BY THE LOCAL FARMERS TO PREVENT PREDATION ON THEIR LIVESTOCK. OVER TIME, SHE CREATED THE MULTI-FACETED CHEETAH CONSERVATION CENTRE. ONE OF THE OUTSTANDING PROGRAMS AT THE CENTRE IS A TRAINING SITE WHERE ANATOLIAN SHEPHERDS LEARN TO PROTECT LIVESTOCK FROM PREDATOR ATTACKS...RESULTING IN GREATLY REDUCED HUMAN-WILDLIFE CONFLICT WHEREVER THESE GUARD DOGS ARE EMPLOYED. IN 1990, DR. MARKER FOUNDED THE CHEETAH CONSERVATION FUND WHICH HAS MADE GREAT STRIDES IN STABILIZING THE NAMIBIAN CHEETAH POPULATION, USING INNOVATIVE, AWARD-WINNING TECHNIQUES WHICH SERVE AS CONSERVATION TOOLS AROUND THE GLOBE. DUE TO HER EFFORTS, THE CITY OF WINDHOEK, NAMIBIA, IS NOW KNOWN AS "THE CHEETAH CAPITAL OF THE WORLD".
DR. MARKER WILL DISCUSS THE FACTORS CAUSING THE CHEETAH TO BE THE MOST ENDANGERED BIG CAT IN AFRICA AND HOW SHE HAS WORKED WITH THE NAMIBIAN COMMUNITY TO CHANGE THE MINDSET OF THE FARMERS THERE BY PROVIDING EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS & NON-LETHAL PREDATOR CONTROL METHODS. HER MULTI-PRONGED APPROACH TO CONSERVATION HAS LED TO A KIND OF ‘PEACEFUL CO-EXISTENCE’ BETWEEN THE FARMERS & LARGE PREDATORS….AND HAS RESULTED IN MANY FEWER CHEETAH DEATHS IN THE REGION AND ELSEWHERE.
FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE CHEETAH CONSERVATION FUND, VISIT THEIR WEBSITE AT:
www.cheetah.org . THE CCF U.S. OFFICE CAN BE REACHED AT #(866) 909-3399 .
YOU CAN SUPPORT DR. MARKER’S WORK BY MAKING A DONATION, ‘ADOPTING’ A CHEETAH OR A GUARD DOG,
PARTICIPATING AS AN INTERN/ VOLUNTEER OR BY VISITING THE CCF CENTRE IN NAMIBIA.
- KBOO