Cheetah "hug"
Oct 20th, 2006, 06:19 PM
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Cheetah "hug"
5 weeks and counting!
I have my special reservation for the Sheldrick Animal Orphanage...
What do I need to do to rub the bellies of the cheetahs I keep hearing about? What's the secret?
I have my special reservation for the Sheldrick Animal Orphanage...
What do I need to do to rub the bellies of the cheetahs I keep hearing about? What's the secret?
Oct 20th, 2006, 06:48 PM
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Oooh Liz, when I read your post I actually got a wonderful warm fuzzy feeling remembering our cheetah hug!
I am sure I will go to my deathbed with a permanent smile plastered on my face remembering the snuzzling (my new word - I made it up) into their fur and getting sandpaper kisses in return!
What we did was to book Kennedy - a Nairobi guide/driver a few of us on the board have used - to take us to the cheetah hug, as you can't always just ask once you are there. He pre-arranges it with the powers-that-be at KWS and then that way it's a pretty sure thing. He can be reached at
[email protected]
He is a great guide - all of us who have used him have been very happy with him!
I am sure I will go to my deathbed with a permanent smile plastered on my face remembering the snuzzling (my new word - I made it up) into their fur and getting sandpaper kisses in return!
What we did was to book Kennedy - a Nairobi guide/driver a few of us on the board have used - to take us to the cheetah hug, as you can't always just ask once you are there. He pre-arranges it with the powers-that-be at KWS and then that way it's a pretty sure thing. He can be reached at
[email protected]
He is a great guide - all of us who have used him have been very happy with him!
Oct 20th, 2006, 08:49 PM
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We also used Kennedy earlier this month for the cheetah hug. It was the highlight of our trip, and yes we did a nine day safari! Those pictures are took are priceless! Kennedy is awesome, a great guide who will take you wherever you want. I highly recommend him. If you use him, tell him Aaron and friends from California say hello!
Oct 22nd, 2006, 05:47 AM
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I am very interested in the cheetah "hug", but KWS is already inluded in my tour package with ESS. Did anyone check with ESS or other tour operators whether they can arrange the same? I seemed to remember reading that Simburu was going to ask Serah...
Did I mention that I am VERY interested?
Pat
Did I mention that I am VERY interested?
Pat
Oct 22nd, 2006, 10:41 AM
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Pat, just to be sure, you should email ESS and ask them to pre-arrange it - I'm sure they probably could, I wouldn't take a chance that you could just ask while there. I know some guys who were watching us were practically begging the guide (Noah) to let them in too, when we were there Noah was still saying 'no', but I am not sure what ahappened after we left.
Nov 30th, 2006, 04:43 AM
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Pat... with regards to the cheetah hug, a poster here, Joyce, told me a few days ago that she was initially told that KWS no longer allowed the petting of the cheetahs. However, another KWS volunteer let them in... she'll no doubt post a trip report and you cna ask her yourself for the full story. Serah had never sent anyone to do the "cheetah hug" before, so she sent someone out to there and he/she was told by KWS that it had definitely been discontinued now..... it was left up to individual KWS volunteers to say yes or no before, but apparently KWS decided to give them more time to do their work by issuing an edict...
Obviously the message is mixed so you'll just have to wait for people to report back from Kenya in mid to late December or early January to get a clearer picture.
Here is where I will post my trip planning story by the way... way down the bottom...
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...4&tid=34739645
Obviously the message is mixed so you'll just have to wait for people to report back from Kenya in mid to late December or early January to get a clearer picture.
Here is where I will post my trip planning story by the way... way down the bottom...
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...4&tid=34739645
Nov 30th, 2006, 07:18 AM
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Just a cheetah warning...
A friend of mine visited a cheetah sanctuary (not sure which one) and to make a long story short, ended up being 'swatted' by the cheetah. She was incredibly fortunate that the claws did not actually break the skin, but had deep bruises down her entire leg, and her jeans were sliced.
She was with a ranger, and following the ranger's instructions, and the only thing anyone could think of that she might have done wrong is the fact that she is short!
So maybe the orphanage is different if the cubs are handled from the beginning, but it was a reminder to me that wild animals are still wild.
A friend of mine visited a cheetah sanctuary (not sure which one) and to make a long story short, ended up being 'swatted' by the cheetah. She was incredibly fortunate that the claws did not actually break the skin, but had deep bruises down her entire leg, and her jeans were sliced.
She was with a ranger, and following the ranger's instructions, and the only thing anyone could think of that she might have done wrong is the fact that she is short!
So maybe the orphanage is different if the cubs are handled from the beginning, but it was a reminder to me that wild animals are still wild.
Nov 30th, 2006, 08:22 AM
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They certainly are. But even pets will bite or scratch sometimes, so why not a tame cheetah? Tame and trained (like the zoo 'ambassadors' they have some places) are surely not the same. Hopefully people understand and accept he risk (or at least realise they are ignoring it) and won't make a fuss if it does happen...* 
* given that KWS never seems to have "sold" this as an attraction?
* given that KWS never seems to have "sold" this as an attraction?
Nov 30th, 2006, 11:28 PM
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We did the cheetah hug just last month. We arranged it with Kennedy, who comes highly recommended by me and others on the board.
For pictures, log onto costco.com
click on photo center
then click login
[email protected]
pasword- sacstate98
For pictures, log onto costco.com
click on photo center
then click login
[email protected]
pasword- sacstate98
Dec 1st, 2006, 07:42 AM
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Okay, as of yesterday Kennedy was still doing it,too. Joyce did it on her own a few days ago, so if you are interested it seems the key is to be persuasive and/or find the right person on the KWS volunteer staff.
Dec 1st, 2006, 08:48 AM
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This is a posting from Bushdrums... Jan put my post up there and so I guess I should put a post from there up here. Can anyone confirm that this is true? There is no other comment on it on Bushdrums.
"When you get back to nairobi visit the animal orphanage. there you find 3 cheetah sisters together in an enclosure - they have been living there for 3 (!!!) years now! the measurements is approx. 15 by 15 meters. the enclosure is next to a street and doesn't offer any bush, tree or other hide. the only - and really the ONLY - thing in that miserable enclosure is a table!!! you are allowed to enter the enclosure and take fotos, pet the cheetahs and leave a big tipp with the caretaker! the poor creatures are exposed to the noice which the airplanes make apporaching wilson, the noise from that street - one of the cheetahs runs up and down the fence as soon as a car is in sight.
all three had infected ears when we visited. the get treatment with insect repellent!!!
next door to the orphanage is the nature walk where they have really big enclosures. there live to cheetahs - a boy and a girl -. they have bushes, trees and a big enclosure and they get exercises....
i contact the kws in order to get them aware what's going on in the orphanage. no response........
may i ask you to pursue the kws as well and ask for reloaction to the nature walk site so that these cheetah beauties might get a better life."
If this really is the case it is very sad, but I really don't understand why KWS would do that.
"When you get back to nairobi visit the animal orphanage. there you find 3 cheetah sisters together in an enclosure - they have been living there for 3 (!!!) years now! the measurements is approx. 15 by 15 meters. the enclosure is next to a street and doesn't offer any bush, tree or other hide. the only - and really the ONLY - thing in that miserable enclosure is a table!!! you are allowed to enter the enclosure and take fotos, pet the cheetahs and leave a big tipp with the caretaker! the poor creatures are exposed to the noice which the airplanes make apporaching wilson, the noise from that street - one of the cheetahs runs up and down the fence as soon as a car is in sight.
all three had infected ears when we visited. the get treatment with insect repellent!!!
next door to the orphanage is the nature walk where they have really big enclosures. there live to cheetahs - a boy and a girl -. they have bushes, trees and a big enclosure and they get exercises....
i contact the kws in order to get them aware what's going on in the orphanage. no response........
may i ask you to pursue the kws as well and ask for reloaction to the nature walk site so that these cheetah beauties might get a better life."
If this really is the case it is very sad, but I really don't understand why KWS would do that.
Dec 1st, 2006, 12:38 PM
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I’ve seen the cheetah cage. It’s visible to the left, next to the road after you’ve entered the main gate to Nairobi NP. To me it confirmed what I’ve read about the Animal Orphanage in the LP guide, “it’s basically a rather poor zoo”. Instead I went to the Safari Walk, but that’s just a “good” zoo and not a place I will return to. There was some good environmental information and school classes where visiting, so I suppose it serves a purpose, but I don’t understand why it didn’t replace the “Animal Orphanage” when it was built. The cheetahs have an oblong enclosure that allows some running. I saw small children having fun running next to the cheetah enclosure making the cheetahs follow them. I thought about saying something about behaving like prey, but then I thought that the cheetahs needed some stimulation. :-?
Dec 1st, 2006, 02:46 PM
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The cheetah girls are very happy with their life.
Now you guys may think I have lost it, but really, I can just tell when animals are happy or not, same way I can tell with my cats or dog at home. Mom told me I have always talked to animals, even as a little tyke, and she told me they have always responded to me in turn.
And I don't think it's an unusual or odd talent - I think many people have it, and I'm betting lots on this board.
The girls, Sharon, Misa and Teva can run in the enclosure, it was a huge enclosure that we went into. It had a shelter area where I am presuming they eat, and can go into in incliment weather. They respond very well to people, we got lots of sandpaper kisses! They are well taken care of by the handlers, as they responded very well to the one that took us in (Noah), they seemed genuinely glad to see him. And they really didn't mind us. Sharon wanted to sleep mind you, but as Dennis said about the lions, nothing different from my housecat. The other two were receptive about sitting up to pose for pictures for us.
I live directly under the flight path for YVR (have for 28 years), when someone says 'hey that plane is really loud', I say 'what plane?'. You really do get used to it, you just turn the volume up on the TV if you are watching a good show. So. even if they are under the flight path, considering they are right by the airport, I'd say that noise would be heard wherever you would be in the orphanage.
And, I don't think the enclosure that I went into was bordering on a road - at least I couldn't see it if it was.
On the other hand, Pascal, the lion there is not happy. I'm not sure why, I just felt he wasn't happy. Maybe he needs company too???
Now you guys may think I have lost it, but really, I can just tell when animals are happy or not, same way I can tell with my cats or dog at home. Mom told me I have always talked to animals, even as a little tyke, and she told me they have always responded to me in turn.
And I don't think it's an unusual or odd talent - I think many people have it, and I'm betting lots on this board.
The girls, Sharon, Misa and Teva can run in the enclosure, it was a huge enclosure that we went into. It had a shelter area where I am presuming they eat, and can go into in incliment weather. They respond very well to people, we got lots of sandpaper kisses! They are well taken care of by the handlers, as they responded very well to the one that took us in (Noah), they seemed genuinely glad to see him. And they really didn't mind us. Sharon wanted to sleep mind you, but as Dennis said about the lions, nothing different from my housecat. The other two were receptive about sitting up to pose for pictures for us.
I live directly under the flight path for YVR (have for 28 years), when someone says 'hey that plane is really loud', I say 'what plane?'. You really do get used to it, you just turn the volume up on the TV if you are watching a good show. So. even if they are under the flight path, considering they are right by the airport, I'd say that noise would be heard wherever you would be in the orphanage.
And, I don't think the enclosure that I went into was bordering on a road - at least I couldn't see it if it was.
On the other hand, Pascal, the lion there is not happy. I'm not sure why, I just felt he wasn't happy. Maybe he needs company too???
Dec 1st, 2006, 03:05 PM
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Are you for real? Happy with their life?! I'm sure if you could talk to them they would say they'd much prefer to be in the wild and roaming free than stuck in some godforsaken enclosure. Using your logic, I'm sure if you talked to the bears in India they would tell you they enjoyed having their teeth and claws ripped out to dance for tourists.
