Museum in honour of cheetah whisperer who founded wildlife sanctuary

As Dante the cheetah took after a mechanical lure being dragged across the ground by a high-speed winch at the Ann van Dyk Cheetah Centre near Brits in the North West, it was easy to see why former Springbok Bryan Habana didn’t have a chance of winning the 2007 race.

Despite having a 40m head start, the race to raise international awareness about the threat to cheetahs saw Habana, who at his peak sprinted 100m in 10.4 seconds, being smoked by a cheetah named Centaine, which beat him with 10m to spare.

And this weekend, a tribute to South African legend Ann van Dyke, who challenged Habana to the race, was opened in the form of a museum at the centre on Saturday.

Van Dyke’s accomplishments extraordinary

Prominent funder Howard Buffet said Van Dyke’s accomplishments were extraordinary, “especially in a time when it was very difficult for women to do what she did”.

He added: “She is an amazing person we all loved and we all miss.”

In a pre-recorded congratulatory message, Habana said it was a “pretty epic moment” in his life.

“I was approached to do something which had never been done before and in so doing, raise an incredible amount of attention about the plight of the cheetah and Ann was extremely instrumental in everything,” he said.

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The centre’s general manager Petro van Eeden said they were also celebrating 53 years in cheetah conservation.

“Over the years we have helped more than 900 cheetahs in many different ways,” he said

Listed as vulnerable on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red Data list, with a decreasing population trend, the IUCN estimated there were only around 6 517 cheetahs world-wide on 17 May, 2021.

No funding from government

And without funders, the centre would be facing the same problem as cheetahs. A registered non-profit organisation, the centre received no funding from government and it was donations from the public which kept it and its various programmes running.

Van Eeden noted medical expenses alone for sick animals, deworming, tick and flea prevention, as well as vaccinations ran to about R100 000 a year, then there was feeding for all the various animals and maintenance of the sanctuary.

The sanctuary was critical for cheetah conservation, said Van Dyk’s nephew Eric who, together with a dedicated team, is continuing with his aunt’s legacy who died in 2013.

“In terms of cheetah conservation, the centre is very valuable. We follow very strict protocols for breeding to ensure the genetic diversity we need,” he said

Over the years, it has successfully captured and relocated more than 60 cheetahs considered “problem animals” due to clashes with farmers and encroachment from urban areas.

Animal carefully monitored

More than 600 cheetah cubs and 500 wild dog pups have been born at the centre, with the genetic history of each animal carefully monitored at first by Van Dyk in handwritten notes and now being digitised.

Van Eeden said in 2016 they had started working with Onderstepoort Veterinary Academic Hospital’s Dr Cindy Harper.

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Each animal at the centre has two DNA samples taken at six months of age, one of which goes to Onderstepoort to map genetics and the other to the SA National Biodiversity Institute to prevent the trade in illegal cheetah.

De Wildt is also where a litter of King Cheetah cubs was born in 1991. King cheetah markings are caused by a recessive gene which causes the coats to have stripes along the back and large irregular splotches overwhelming the usual spots.

Ambassador Cheetahs

It’s not only for medical and relocation reasons cheetahs are at the centre, but also for education, which is where ambassador cheetahs like Jules come in.

Retired general manager Marilyn Hull, who curated the muse- um, said there were times problems arose when a litter was born.

“Mom or one of the babies gets sick, or mom is just a really bad mom and she abandons her first litter. In cases like that, this is an endangered species we can’t ignore it, and where possible, we will save that baby,” said Hull.

When it came to sorting material for the museum, Hull soon realised there was a mammoth task ahead.

“The woman was a squirrel, she kept everything,” said Hull, to the laughter of guests.

“There’s even a box of her father’s cigars, that’s how far it goes”

Aside from the museum, visitors can also enjoy a drive by tour guide Samuel Sebasa who gave an interesting drive around the centre which looks after numerous other animals, including two hyaenas rescued from the Bloemfontein Zoo after it was closed in 2020 due to gross mismanagement. – amandaw@citizen.co.za

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