Cheetah Conservation Fund Announces Host and Honoured Guest Speaker for Annual Fundraising Gala

For Immediate Release

CHEETAH CONSERVATION FUND ANNOUNCES HOST AND HONOURED GUEST SPEAKER FOR ANNUAL FUNDRAISING GALA

OTJIWARONGO, Namibia (9 July 2018) – For the 20th consecutive year, Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF) will celebrate the speed and elegance of the cheetah with fellow Namibians at its annual Gala Dinner at the Windhoek Country Club on the 13th of July. The honoured guest speaker will be Dr Greg Rasmussen, a conservation biologist from the Painted Dog Research Trust, in Zimbabwe, a long-time associate and good friend of CCF’s Founder and Executive Director, Dr Laurie Marker.

Dr Rasmussen is the Founding Director of the Painted Dog Research Trust, and one of the world’s leading experts on the African wild dog. Rasmussen has been studying African wild dogs since 1988 and his is the longest running project on wild dogs in the world. Greg got his DPhil from the University of Oxford’s WILDCRU and has published over 30 peer reviewed papers on wild dog behaviour. Dr Rasmussen is also part of both national and international committees for carnivore conservation and is a member of the Canid Specialist Groups within the IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature), as well as the Range Wide Conservation Program for Cheetah & African Wild Dog, which works to help save this species for the future.

With the pan-African population declining from half a million individuals – down to less than 5000, the African wild dog is listed by IUCN as Endangered. The African wild dog population in Zimbabwe links to all five neighbouring countries: Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, South Africa and Mozambique, thus making Zimbabwe’s an important keystone population for this species.

The Painted Dog Research Trust is based just outside Victoria Falls, and works with National Parks, private safari companies, and communal farmers. Trans boundary initiatives are focal to their conservation work, as painted dogs know no international boundaries. Their reach extends along the Zambezi from Botswana, Zambia and Namibia, enabling them to share knowledge with these important range states.

“I am very excited to have Dr Rasmussen speak at this year’s gala”, said Dr Laurie Marker. “CCF has been active in the Eastern Communal areas where there is intense conflict between the livestock farmers with Namibia’s endangered population of African wild dogs, and we hope to learn from Greg’s experience and expertise”.

Tickets for the gala are still available. Individual tickets are N$650 and a table of 10 is N$6,500. Tickets include a pre-dinner drink, three-course meal, speaker’s presentation, awards ceremony, silent auction and one complimentary admission for a guided tour of the CCF Centre. Tickets can be purchased by contacting Heike Stackman at 067-304806 or ccfinfo@iway.na.

Cheetah Conservation Fund

Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF) is the global leader in research and conservation of cheetahs. CCF is a Namibian non-profit trust dedicated to saving the cheetah in the wild. CCF believes that understanding the cheetah’s biology, ecology and interactions with people is essential to conserve the cheetah in the wild. The strategy is a three-pronged process of research, conservation and education, beginning with long-term studies to understand and monitor the factors affecting the cheetah’s survival. Results are used to develop conservation policies and programmes. CCF works with local, national and international communities to raise awareness, communicate and educate. Visit www.cheetah.org for more info.

Media Contact:

Dr Laurie Marker

director@cheetah.org

067 306225 or 0811247887