The Cheetah Conservation Fund Receives the TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence
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[Otjiwarongo, Namibia – 26 June 2013] – Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF) has received a Certificate of Excellence from TripAdvisor for 2013. This award is given to tourism businesses that consistently receive high ratings from TripAdvisor travelers. Only the top 10% of businesses worldwide on TripAdvisor receive this award.
Namibia is home to the largest population of cheetahs in the world, yet the cheetah is under threat from loss of habitat and prey, conflict with humans and their livestock, and poaching. CCF’s open-to-the-public Field Research and Education Centre is based in the heart of cheetah country, 50 km west of Otjiwarongo, at the foot of the majestic Waterberg Plateau. “This award is made possible thanks to all of our guests and visitors who come from all corners of the world,” said CCF’s Founder and Executive Director, Dr. Laurie Marker, “thus CCF and its staff will continue to work to ensure that their high opinion of us is well-earned.” Dr. Marker founded the international non-profit trust in 1990 to save the wild cheetah and its habitat. CCF addresses threats to the cheetah throughout its range using education and public outreach, conservation biology and management, public policy, science and research. CCF’s Field Research and Education Centre offers a rare opportunity for visitors to visit a world-class research and conservation facility that is working to save Africa’s most endangered big cat. A courtyard with native gardens and an attractive cheetah sculpture welcomes guests to the area that serves as the hub of CCF’s multi-disciplinary programmes. The Education Centre houses a museum where visitors can learn more about the cheetah’s 4-million year history, its unique biology, the eco-system it helps to maintain, and the conservation issues it faces as well as actions to save the fastest of all land mammals. The Visitor Centre has a large meeting room, gift shop, café, and the predator ‘preyground' -- a learning area for school groups and children of all ages, which is an essential aspect of CCF’s education programmes. The Research Centre houses a veterinary clinic, laboratory and main offices. “Awesome to see how this project is helping to save the cats and
giving farmers alternatives to killing the cats.” TripAdvisor Review. 22 May 2013. Visitors get an up close look at the work of CCF -- how the cheetah lives within an ecosystem together with prey, and how farmers can live with cheetahs on their land by using non-lethal predator control methods, which are demonstrated on CCF’s Model Farm. Its successful CCF Livestock Guarding Dog Programme has contributed to an 80% decrease in predation on livestock farms.
Special activities include seeing the ‘Cheetah Run’, a ‘Cheetah Safari’, a ‘Little Serengeti’ safari drive on the plains alongside large herds of hartebeest, oryx, springbok, warthog and jackals, or a ‘Cheetah Exclusive’, which includes all the above and a visit with CCF's educational cheetah ambassadors accompanied by Dr. Laurie Marker or a CCF scientist for the day. Visitors during their stay meet many of CCF’s dedicated team of Namibian and international volunteers, staff and student interns. “CCF is a well run establishment and a very pleasurable experience, for young and old!”
TripAdvisor Review. 2 April 2013. Guests can stay overnight in the elegant Babson House, a three-room exclusive private cottage reminiscent of the Out of Africa era. Best of all, a visit to CCF makes a valuable contribution to the work of CCF and the conservation of the cheetah in Namibia.
The Cheetah Café, located on a veranda overlooking the majestic Waterberg Plateau, offers elegant light lunches and snacks, as well as pre-booked lunches for tour groups. Guests can relax while enjoying a cup of French press coffee or the famous CCF Goat Milk Cheese Platter, with cheeses produced at CCF’s own Dancing Goat Creamery. The creamery produces artisan goat milk cheese and dairy products as part of CCF’s efforts to demonstrate alternative income methods to Namibian farmers. “Although cheetahs may be the feature, the story is so much bigger and
all the experiences you can select from are worth the trip.” Trip Advisor Review. 24 March 2013. |