Tag: Conservation

Cheetah vs. Bat-Eared Fox – New Cheetah Report Posted

Here is a link to the latest Serengeti Cheetah Report prepared exclusively for Africa Dream Safaris by Helen, the on-site researcher for the Serengeti Cheetah Project. You won’t find this information anywhere else. Africa Dream Safaris helps fund the Serengeti Cheetah Project’s ongoing conservation efforts. In turn, periodic reports are prepared exclusively for Africa Dream Safaris by the on-site researchers for the Serengeti Cheetah Project.

There’s lots of exciting cheetah news in this latest issue directly from the bush. There have been several new arrivals as well as quite a few cubs reaching independence and having to start making their own way in the world and a few funny cheetah stories! Read about the mischievous encounters of the famous Ndutu cheetah named Emily and her two cubs as they get into a pickle with one of Ndutu’s other local residents, the bat-eared fox.

Ndutu is located in the South Serengeti right on the border of the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Conservation Area and offers exceptional cheetah viewing during the green season. The Ndutu area consists of a patch of acacia fringe woodlands that surround two lakes (Lake Ndutu and Lake Masek). These woodlands are in turn completely surrounded by the main Serengeti plains. Ndutu, a transitional zone or ecotone, is where two distinctly different habitats merge and where various species of flora and fauna from both habitats can coexist.

Click here for the current Serengeti Cheetah Report.

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Serengeti Cheetah Project

Africa Dream Safaris is a proud sponsor of the Serengeti Cheetah Project. Our quarterly donations help fund the Serengeti Cheetah Project’s ongoing conservation efforts, which include preserving the approximately 210 remaining cheetahs that inhabit the Serengeti Ecosystem. The Serengeti Cheetah Project was initiated in 1974 by George and Lory Frame, when virtually nothing was known about cheetahs in the wild, and information on their conservation status was limited. Since then, it has been responsible for collecting demography data to monitor the Serengeti’s critically endangered cheetah population.

The initial research conducted by the Serengeti Cheetah Project focused on establishing the basic natural history of cheetahs. Today, the project continues to collect demographic data but focuses almost entirely on issues of conservation significance. Its overall goal is to preserve the long-term survival of cheetahs in the wild. Africa Dream Safaris now helps fund their ongoing conservation efforts. In turn, periodic reports are prepared exclusively for Africa Dream Safaris by the on-site researchers for the Serengeti Cheetah Project. So you won’t find this info anywhere else!

We’ve asked Laura Simpson, the current field researcher for the Serengeti Cheetah Project, to focus on individual cheetahs and tell us about their daily lives and their relationships with each other. It is a fascinating soap-opera out there! We think you will really enjoy the real-life drama and adventures of these awesome animals as they live, hunt, and raise their families in the harsh African wilderness.

You’ll get to read current updates, stories and photos of the world’s fastest land-mammal, all in one of the most exciting settings in the world, the Serengeti National Park! You’ll also share in the on-site adventures of the dedicated researchers who are determined to save this beautiful cat from extinction in the wild. Sometimes touching, sometimes humorous, their stories are always entertaining and I’m sure you will enjoy them as much as we do!

Laura does a great job explaining her work and the overall mission of the Cheetah Project in these reports!

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Serengeti Lion Conservation

Africa Dream Safaris is a proud sponsor of the Serengeti Lion Project. Our funding helps to protect lions against diseases such as canine distemper through programs aimed at vaccinating domestic dogs on the periphery of the Serengeti. We are delighted to announce that Africa Dream Safaris was honored with the Tanzania Conservation Award specifically because of our work with the Serengeti Lion Project. This prestigious award is presented by the Minister of Tourism in conjunction with the Tanzania Tourist Board.

Twenty-six resident lion prides residing in and around the Central Serengeti have been continuously studied since 1966 when George Schaller began his groundbreaking field study. The Serengeti Lion Project was hence created, which is the longest continuous field study ever conducted on a large mammal. One female member from each of the 26 prides is radio collared so that they can be tracked and studied on a weekly basis. George Schaller’s initial study turned out to be a true landmark, not only because he worked out so many aspects of their social lives, but because his findings made it clear that lions did not limit the population size of their prey species. It was not necessary to persecute lions and other carnivores in order to ensure large populations of herbivores. The Serengeti could persist forever as an unspoiled spectacle of predators and their prey. Although we might take this notion for granted now, park wardens used to shoot predators and even eradicate some species from game reserves.

George Schaller began and conducted the study from 1966 to 1969, followed by Brian Bertram from 1969 to 1974, Jeannette Hanby and David Bygott from 1974 to 1978 and lastly Craig Packer starting in 1978. After 1978, the Serengeti Lion Project was taken over by the University of Minnesota under the directorship of Craig Packer. Two field biologists are stationed in Seronera 365 days a year to monitor and continue this long-term study. For a $500 per group donation, we can arrange a field talk by the current field biologists at the Lion House in Seronera (Central Serengeti) where you can learn first-hand about the lions of the Serengeti.

Africa Dream Safaris helps fund the Serengeti Lion Project’s ongoing conservation efforts. In turn, periodic reports are prepared exclusively for Africa Dream Safaris by the on-site researchers for the Serengeti Lion Project. So you won’t find this info anywhere else!

Since there are MANY lion prides in the Serengeti, we picked 6 specific study prides to focus on. Talk about having the inside scoop! These Serengeti Lion Project researchers live, sleep, and work out in the bush every single day, so they are able to offer invaluable information about the location and adventures of our favorite lions. Reading like a soap opera at times, we think you will also enjoy the real-life drama and adventures of these awesome animals as they live, hunt, and raise their families together in the harsh African wilderness.

So what new adventures have our favorite lions been up to lately? View these reports to find out!

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