Latest news with #CheetahConservationFund
Yahoo
27-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Cheetah Cub Named Taylor Swift Is Doing 'All Too Well' After Rescue from Illegal Pet Trade
Taylor Swift, the cheetah cub, is just a few months old, and she's already had a few eras to her short life. The baby big cat started life in the wild with a mother to take care of her, but then was poached from her natural habitat in Africa by individuals looking to sell the animal into the illegal wildlife pet trade, according to the Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF). CCF — a nonprofit based in Namibia dedicated to protecting the declining cheetah population —rescued the cheetah cub and pulled her out of the exotic pet trade before she made it too far. When rescuers got hold of Taylor Swift, the cheetah, the cub was only three pounds and not much larger than the kitten of a domestic house cat. Related: All About Taylor Swift's Cats, Meredith Grey, Olivia Benson and Benjamin Button According to CCF, Taylor Swift, the cub, is now out of the woods and doing "all too well." The cub spent her first weeks with the organization getting used to a healthy diet and starting touch training. The training "is essential to desensitize cubs to the gentle touch since Taylor will begin her vaccine regime soon," CFF founder and executive director Dr. Laurie Marker said in a statement. Related: Why Taylor Swift's Cat Benjamin Button Was the Ideal Feline to Join the Star on Her Time Cover "It may not be the Eras tour, but so far Taylor's training has been very successful," she added. Marker said the cheetah cub was named Taylor Swift to honor the music superstar's devotion to felines. Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. CCF is a leader in cheetah research and conservation, working to help the vulnerable creatures, which number less than 7,000 in the wild. The organization is headquartered in Namibia but recently opened a second wildlife reserve in Somaliland, specifically designed to care for cheetahs rescued from the illegal wildlife pet trade. Taylor Swift is settling in well at the Somaliland center and adapting to life at a wildlife reserve. According to CCF, the center is a 1,800-acre facility with 5-12-acre enclosures, where rescue cheetahs can recover with access to the outdoors and plenty of space to play. Read the original article on People
Yahoo
27-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Cheetah Cub Named Taylor Swift Is Doing 'All Too Well' After Rescue from Illegal Pet Trade
Taylor Swift, the cheetah cub, is just a few months old, and she's already had a few eras to her short life. The baby big cat started life in the wild with a mother to take care of her, but then was poached from her natural habitat in Africa by individuals looking to sell the animal into the illegal wildlife pet trade, according to the Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF). CCF — a nonprofit based in Namibia dedicated to protecting the declining cheetah population —rescued the cheetah cub and pulled her out of the exotic pet trade before she made it too far. When rescuers got hold of Taylor Swift, the cheetah, the cub was only three pounds and not much larger than the kitten of a domestic house cat. Related: All About Taylor Swift's Cats, Meredith Grey, Olivia Benson and Benjamin Button According to CCF, Taylor Swift, the cub, is now out of the woods and doing "all too well." The cub spent her first weeks with the organization getting used to a healthy diet and starting touch training. The training "is essential to desensitize cubs to the gentle touch since Taylor will begin her vaccine regime soon," CFF founder and executive director Dr. Laurie Marker said in a statement. Related: Why Taylor Swift's Cat Benjamin Button Was the Ideal Feline to Join the Star on Her Time Cover "It may not be the Eras tour, but so far Taylor's training has been very successful," she added. Marker said the cheetah cub was named Taylor Swift to honor the music superstar's devotion to felines. Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. CCF is a leader in cheetah research and conservation, working to help the vulnerable creatures, which number less than 7,000 in the wild. The organization is headquartered in Namibia but recently opened a second wildlife reserve in Somaliland, specifically designed to care for cheetahs rescued from the illegal wildlife pet trade. Taylor Swift is settling in well at the Somaliland center and adapting to life at a wildlife reserve. According to CCF, the center is a 1,800-acre facility with 5-12-acre enclosures, where rescue cheetahs can recover with access to the outdoors and plenty of space to play. Read the original article on People
Yahoo
08-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Saving cheetahs — what 1 woman is doing to help save the big cats from extinction
NAMIBIA (WKRG) — Nearly 8,000 miles away from the Port City, you will find Dr. Laurie Marker and the Cheetah Conservation Fund in Namibia — a country in Africa. Dr. Marker has spent over 50 years studying cheetahs and trying to help keep the endangered cats from going extinct. Mobile County Sheriff's Office sets reward to find person responsible for Chance the dog 'To save cheetahs, we do a variety of different programs, which include research, education and conservation,' Dr. Marker said. Dr. Marker created CCF about 35 years ago in Namibia — the cheetah capital of the world — to help save the animals for future generations. 'There are only about 7,000 cheetahs left in the world today, so they are Africa's most endangered big cat,' Dr. Marker continued. One issue affecting the cheetah population is the illegal wildlife pet trade, which primarily comes from the Horn of Africa. 'Although I'm based here in Namibia, we have a second base, which is up in Somaliland, which is a breakaway country from Somalia,' Dr. Marker said. 'There, the cats come up from Ethiopia and Somaliland, and they're poached as cubs and sold into the illegal pet trade.' Dr. Marker continued by saying they have over 100 cheetahs that they have rescued from the trade at their research center in Somaliland. 'We often get cubs in, mostly, and if you get a cub in, and it's a tiny cub that has to be on a bottle, it probably will not be able to go back out into the wild because it's too habituated and used to people,' Dr. Marker said. Later this month, Dr. Marker will come to Mobile for the Educational Travel Conference to discuss the importance of cheetahs and other animals in Africa living in the wild. On March 20, she will be spending time at the Gulf Coast Zoo in Gulf Shores where two cheetahs made it their home in July 2024. Theodore fire leaves 4 people homeless There are many ways to get involved with CCF, including donating to the cause, joining their Facebook page and volunteering at the research center. More information can be found on the CCF website. Watch the full interview with Dr. Laurie Marker below. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
