Luke Hunter - Cheetah

DEDICATIONS

To my wife Sophie who shares my love of cheetahs and has spent many hours with me watching them. I could not have pursued my ongoing passion for carnivores without her unflinching support, calming insight and uncanny ability to produce superb coffee no matter where in the African bush we find ourselves.

LUKE HUNTER

For my girls Hlne and Michelle

DAVE HAMMAN

Published by Struik Nature
(an imprint of Random House Struik (Pty) Ltd)
First Floor, Wembley Square 2, Solan Street,
Gardens, Cape Town 8001

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First published in 2003
This ebook edition in 2013

Copyright published edition: Struik Publishers, 2003
Copyright text: Luke Hunter, 2003
Copyright photographs and illustrations: refer Picture Credits on

Publishing manager: Pippa Parker
Managing editor: Helen de Villiers
Editor: Roxanne Reid
Designer: Janice Evans
Cover concept: Dominic Robson & Janice Evans
Map & chart: David du Plessis

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the copyright owners.

ISBN 1 86872 719 X (Print)
ISBN 978 1 77584 103 6 (ePDF)
ISBN 978 1 77584 108 1 (ePUB)

CONTENTS

ON A PROJECT OF THIS MAGNITUDE there are always people, friends and family who deserve ones utmost gratitude. So as not to detract from the importance of them all, Ive had to single out those people who, some of them unwittingly, have particularly influenced me in one way or another.

Ive been privileged to have had a number opportunities present themselves to me in my life. Not only is it important that the opportunity present itself, but the timing is of equal importance. If mentally we are not up to the occasion, the door of opportunity will close just as quickly as it opened.

The difference between taking and making an image seems a pretty simple concept, but in reality it takes an enormous amount of experience. Ive been very fortunate in having had the opportunity to work with my good friend, Chris Johns, who unselfishly parted with his support and advice. Chris not only shared the technical aspects of photography, but also taught me a tremendous amount about the subtleties of the job. I feel privileged to have had the opportunity to spend so much time in the field with someone who knows more about creating images than many of us can ever dream of.

Pushing the envelope is nothing new for me, not in a reckless sense, but more in the sense of testing limits. It is these restraints that were shattered by another inspirational person, Kenji Yamaguchi. It is an honor to have the privilege of working with and then becoming friends with such people who know no boundaries, where everything is a challenge. In todays world with technology at out fingertips it is more about applying what we have rather than merely using it.

The years spent travelling and working on this book would not have been possible without the help of special friends. Not only were we accommodated and fed, but often motivated by their inquiring minds: Mike Holding, Tania Jenkins, Mike and Hannelize Reddin and the Schrams, Alain and Illona, are those that stand apart.

A special mention has to go to those that enabled me to continue with my career when an unfortunate incident with a puff adder almost cost me my arm. As far as I know there are not many one-armed photographers running around. I owe my entire career to Alison Brown and Dr Steven Reed who on that fateful day came to the rescue and by their timely intervention, ultimately saved my arm. Dr Edwards and the entire ICU and trauma staff at Milpark Hospital also deserve special mention for their high-quality professional medical attention.

The amount of gratitude that needs to be expressed to my greatest source of inspiration has no measure. To my girls, Hlne and Michelle who have to endure those long and lonely months when Im out in the field, this is all for you.

DAVE HAMMAN

MY WORK WITH CHEETAHS BEGAN AT PHINDA and I am grateful to many people there for their enduring support and interest. In particular, my thanks go to John Skinner (University of Pretoria), Kevin Leo-Smith and Dave Varty for the opportunity to work on reintroduced cheetahs, and to Les Carlisle, Gus van Dyk and Martin Rickleton for teaching me how to catch them. Many rangers and trackers have provided information on the Phinda cheetahs over the last decade; in particular, thanks to Gavin Lautenbach, Tina Martin, Bryan Olver, Kev Pretorius, Karl Rosenberg and Carl Walker. A great many more people have helped with their time and valuable input over the years on cheetah matters; there are too many to name here but special thanks to Lise Hanssen who helped to establish Africat, and to Laurie Marker of the Cheetah Conservation Fund. To Eve Gracie, thank you for asking me to write about cheetahs and much more besides.

The early chapters benefited enormously from the input of many people. David Coulson from the Trust for African Rock Art, Anthony Ham, Lajos Nemeth and Andrs Zboray provided excellent information on cheetahs in ancient art, and thanks also to Lajos for information on cheetahs in North Africa. I am indebted to the many respondents to my queries on the practice of hunting with cheetahs; in particular, thanks to Miriam Bibby, (Ancient Egypt Magazine), Lee Fitzhugh (University of California), Mostafa Saleh (Al Azhar University), Mohamed Nour-Eddine Fatehi (Moroccan Falconer's Association), Derek Welsby (British Museum) and Kelly Wilson (DeWildt Wild Cheetah Project). A special thanks goes to David Witts whose encyclopaedic knowledge of difficult-to-find literature is second to none and saved me from a number of early errors. I am grateful to Harold Bryant of the Royal Saskatchewan Museum for his insight on extinct carnivores and to Anne-Marie Drieux (Fonds de Conservation du Guepard) for supplying information on the desert cheetahs in Mali. My thanks also to Kate Crough and Andrea Gill for their terrific work under pressure to scan my illustrations and make sure they reached Cape Town.

At Struik, Pippa Parker offered me the wonderful opportunity to work on this project; her constant enthusiasm has ensured that it proceeded in sometimes difficult circumstances. Special thanks also to Helen de Villiers and to Roxanne Reid for their interest in cheetahs, attention to detail and extremely speedy work. Janice Evans work on designing the book has been exeptional under very demanding deadlines. The beautiful end result is a credit to her dedication. Dave Hammans love for the subject and readiness to accept my ideas throughout has been a complete pleasure. Finally, my text draws heavily on the findings of many other cheetah researchers for which I am very grateful. Any errors in interpretation are entirely my own.