Mother Nature can be so cruel

Mother Nature can be cruel, especially when it comes to conservation efforts. This female cheetah was introduced this past December into Coutada 11. Our team's research and monitoring has shown that due to the long grass and plentiful game in this area, the cheetahs do not have much exploratory movement, making tracking difficult at times. During mid-January of this year, the team was on a monitoring patrol and noticed the female laying in the long grass, looking up at the chopper, but something looked off. Through binoculars, they could see both of her eyes were covered in ticks.

A decision was made to intervene, and the veterinarian was on site as quickly as possible. She was darted, and once safely sedated, they went in to examine. They discovered her eyes, mouth, and rear end were completely covered in ticks. Through inspection, they located a large wound on the back right flank near the base of the tail -- 4" long by 2" deep. The cause of the wound was unknown, but Willem Briers-Louw reported it was most likely from a baboon or horned antelope. A lion or leopard was ruled out due to the absence of other claw marks. Clearly, the female's immune system was compromised, and the ticks had moved in.

The arduous task of manually removing each of the ticks was taken on, as well as pushing antibiotics, vitamins, and fluids. After the wound was treated, she was reversed and took off into the floodplain. Through regular monitoring, the team's work had paid off. This was evident by the last photo of her, resting comfortably with no signs of ticks. 

The moral of this story is it takes an incredibly passionate and hard-working team on the front lines to keep conservation measures moving. We could not be more proud and thankful of our partners at Zambezi Delta Safaris --- they are true stewards of wildlife.