Conserving Cheetahs

Destination: Windhoek, Namibia

Outside of Windhoek, Namibia you'll find a vast desert, a long dune-dotted coastline, and a park system chockablock with native and endangered species.

Few animals capture our imaginations like the big cats, and the sleek, streamlined racer that leaves them all in the dust is the cheetah. These lanky felines are the fastest land animals on Earth, but they can't outrun the manmade threat to their survival. Conflict with humans has the biggest impact on wild cheetahs, as farm livestock make an easy meal for these superb hunters. Diminishment of habitat and shrinking gene pools also make the cheetah's life difficult. The largest population of cheetahs on Earth is in Namibia, but their numbers continue to decrease.

Your work at the headquarters of Namibia's Cheetah Conservation Fund will include wildlife surveying, feeding and caring for captive cheetahs, and entering all your information into a database. Sometimes wild cheetahs are rescued and humanely captured, and you'll be asked to help collect biomedical samples to assess the animal's health and get it released back to the wild as soon as is practical. Your study data on behavior and ecology is part of a large effort to protect the species and strengthen protection laws. The care of resident cheetahs at the project is also an important component of the attempts to turn the statistics around.

Home is a huge working farm, Eland's Joy, where you'll bunk in a two-person, solar-powered bungalow. The farm is also home to kudus, hartebeest, oryx, duiker, steenbok, warthogs, jackals, leopards, brown hyenas, numerous bird species, and an array of smaller animals. In your free time, you'll make a day trip to Etosha National Park for a broader safari experience. Etosha is the largest park in Namibia and chock full of elephants, zebras, lions, rhinos, giraffes, and wild cheetahs. You'll speak English, Namibia's national language, on the project but hear plenty of Afrikaans and German.

Your Next Step: Earthwatch (tel. 800/776-0188; www.earthwatch.org). This 15-day project, $4,050, includes shared bungalow accommodations, group meals prepared by a staff cook, project and survey training, and full project support. A $35 Earthwatch membership is required.

Don't Miss: When you think of Namibia, you likely picture the dune-rippled desert and rough Skeleton Coast, but take the time to visit the expansive Fish River Canyon, the world's largest earth fissure after the Grand Canyon.

Official Tourism Website: www.namibiatourism.com.na