Cheetah Conservation in Zimbabwe.

Events over 5000 miles from March were the subject at the Rotary Club on
Monday 18th April, when members were given up to the minute news about the
latest conservation operations in Zimbabwe to protect the Cheetah, the
Worlds fastest land animal.

The Guest Speaker for the evening, introduced by Ross Davies, was Ashley
Mudungwe, a native of Zimbabwe, and studying at Leicester.

He spoke on behalf of the Marwell Conservation Trust, a non-profit making
wildlife conservation and research organisation established and registered
in 1997. The decline in the Cheetah population in the area, south of
Bulawayo, is in part the result of the land reforms carried out under the
present Zimbabwe regime. Where there were once vary large farming areas of
thousands of acres, in which the wildlife was free to roam, these have now
been re allocated into hundreds of very small units, capably of supporting a
few domestic animals.

Fencing by the new owners, restricts the Cheetahs ability to hunt, and as
the antelope, it's main target, is under even greater threat from the human
population. With domestic animals left to roam at night, they are an easy
option for the Cheetah, and in turn, the 'farmer' illegally hunts the 'big
cat', but the returns on a pelt equal more than a years income so the
temptation is understandable.

Tourism is at an all time low, due to the political situation, and the
Marwell Trust is seeking and succeeding, albeit slowly, to end the conflict
between human and nature. A concise but informative talk produced a volley
of question. Robert Freeman gave the vote of thanks.