Cheetah conservation and farmers can coexist in Namibia – CCF founder Laurie Marker

Cheetah Conservation Fund founder and executive director Laurie Marker says cheetahs and farmers can coexist in Namibia, protecting both the endangered big cat and the livestock industry. She recently won a lifetime achievement award in research for her cheetah conservation work from the government. Marker says her organisation and others are developing tools and techniques to coexist with cheetahs. “There are only about 1 000 cheetahs left in Namibia – the cheetah capital of the world – and many are still being killed by farmers annually,” she says. There are less than 7 000 cheetahs in Africa, spread across 23 countries. When Marker began working in Namibia in the 1980s, her research found that farmers had killed at least half of the country’s cheetah population. “What I want people to understand is cheetahs aren’t wanton livestock killers. They look for easy opportunities to catch their food. This is why we show farmers how to protect their livestock and live in harmony with ...