More work on the energetics of free living cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus)
Early in 2007 GVI started a collaboration with Dr Mike Scantlebury and Johnny Wilson from the University of Pretoria, who was interested in working with our field staff on a study on cheetah energetics. Their poster on the study was presented at the European Mammalogy Conference held in Siena, Italy earlier this year. The pilot study was conducted on captive, habituated cheetahs held at Kapama Centre for Endangered Wildlife near Hoedspruit, and then the first full field study was done on two free-living males (Koba and Shungu) on Karongwe during 2007. The aim is to conduct the same study on five different cheetahs to have enough repetitions of reliable results, so we still have some way to go. It is not easy to find suitable study animals as they need to be free-living but habituated enough that researchers can follow them closely enough to collect scat and urine samples over at least a two week period. Finally, a year after the firs
t study on Koba and Shungu was completed, our team at Karongwe got the opportunity to do the 2nd repetition on Kitsweri, a female, that was darted and injected with the special ‘heavy’ water on the 16th October. Since then the team of staff and EMs have been busting a gut to collect urine and scat samples, and other data from her during a two week long study that sees them follow her during all daylight hours in 35°C+ heat. Good luck to all of the team!
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