CHEETAH OUTREACH - FALL 2019
We had the pleasure of working with the Cheetah Outreach program in South Africa while shooting our Fall Campaign in Cape Town. These magnificent creatures face extinction and the Cheetah Outreach program promotes the survival of free ranging, South African cheetah, through environmental education and conservation initiatives.
To learn more about this vital program visit https://www.cheetah.co.za
Excerpts from the beautifully written article by Nicholas Daines
To read the article in full click here
About South African Cheetahs
"The Cheetah is the fastest land animal on the planet, but it is losing its most important race - the race for survival. Cheetah numbers have been devastated over recent years. At the turn of the century there were an estimated 100,000 Cheetah throughout Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, but today only 7,100 of these beautiful animals survive worldwide. The Cheetah has been driven out of over 91% of its historic range. Their population is now confined to six African countries: Angola, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Mozambique and South Africa. This species is almost entirely extinct in Asia with 50 individuals living in a small isolated pocket in Iran. South Africa is home to 500 free-ranging cheetahs on farmland and approximately 700 in national and privately owned game reserves. It took 4 million years of evolution to produce this incredible predator and only 100 to place it on the edge of extinction".
The Ethical Argument
"Cheetah outreach is successfully tackling the conservation of this majestic cat through various initiatives, but the organisation has come under fire from activist groups that frown upon the fact that these large predators are kept in captivity and allowed to interact with the public on a daily basis. Cheetah Outreach meets these claims head-on and acknowledges that the ethical argument is a very complex one indeed. However, through this incredibly powerful interaction, people develop strong emotional bonds with these animals that forces changes in behaviour and personal actions that will lead to the long-term conservation of the Cheetah. This up-close and personal experience provides an intense education about this magnificent creature and is specifically designed to acutely raise awareness of the plight of the South African Cheetah and what can be done to conserve the species in the wild".
To see more of our Fall collection view here