FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ABU DHABI (Ocotber 8, 2025) Dr. Laurie Marker, one of the world’s leading wildlife conservationists and the founder of the Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF), will travel from Namibia to Abu Dhabi from October 9–15 to attend the prestigious IUCN conference, where she’ll be honored with The Order of the California Condor for her lifetime commitment to saving the cheetah from extinction.

Dr. Marker discovered her life’s mission in the 1970s after traveling from the U.S. to Namibia with a cheetah cub she hand-raised, as part of a groundbreaking experiment to see if captive-born cubs could learn to hunt. Against all odds, the young cheetah did.

In 1990, Dr. Marker founded the Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF) and relocated permanently to Namibia, establishing an International Cheetah Research & Education Centre on a 156,000-acre wildlife reserve. Today, CCF’s campus in Namibia stands as a global model for conservation, featuring a genetics lab, veterinary clinic, dairy creamery, and eco-tourism facilities that provide hundreds of jobs in one of Africa’s most economically challenged regions.

In 2022, Dr. Marker expanded operations into Somaliland, where she opened a dedicated rescue and care facility that now houses over 100 cheetahs rescued from the illegal wildlife pet trade, including one named Taylor Swift, who’s made international headlines People Magazine story. CCF’s Education Centre in Somaliland was completed in 2025 thanks to the generous sponsorship funding from Royal Commission for AlUla.

As CCF celebrates its 35th anniversary, Dr. Marker continues her mission to ensure a future for the world’s fastest land animal. With fewer than 7,000 cheetahs remaining in the wild. Dr. Laurie Marker is available for interviews while in Abu Dhabi.

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About CCF
The global leader in research and conservation of cheetahs, CCF is dedicated to saving cheetahs in the wild. As the fastest land mammal, with the ability to go from 0 to 110km in seconds, cheetahs are the most unique of the big cats. Less than 7500 individuals remain worldwide. Cheetahs suffer from human-wildlife conflict, genetic instability, habitat and prey loss, climate change, and the illegal wildlife trade. Founded in 1990, CCF is an international non-profit organization headquartered in Namibia with a field base in Somaliland. CCF is the longest running cheetah conservation organization. For more information about CCF’s work and how you can help protect cheetahs in the wild please visit www.cheetah.org

About IUCN
Created in 1948, IUCN is now the world’s largest and most diverse environmental network, harnessing the knowledge, resources and reach of our more than 1,400 Member organisations and 17,000 experts. This diversity and expertise makes IUCN the global authority on the status of the natural world and the measures needed to safeguard it.Working with many partners and supporters, IUCN implements a large and diverse portfolio of conservation projects worldwide. These projects combine the latest science with traditional knowledge of local communities to work to reverse habitat loss, restore ecosystems and improve people’s well-being.

About the Order of the California Condor
The Order of the California Condor is a lifetime achievement award, symbolized by a bronze sculpture, given to individuals who have contributed significantly to saving species and protecting/restoring wild nature.

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