I've just been talking to a lost friend who has very little in the way of riches herself but is raising funds for an orphaned cheetah cub in the Mara.
Any spare Euros, pounds, dollars would help as they are so close to their target.

[URL=http://www.masaimarafunds.com/miujisaneedsyourhelp.htm]Masaimarafund[/URL]

Kipper
That touches my heart.

BUT

There is a Kenyan chapter of CCF and I ask myself why they did noit get involved.

I am really suspicious and won't donate until I know more.

The Nairobi orphanage is a disgusting site and the animals are convicted there to just hand around and get fed.

What about the money which still flies in?

Here is the Kenya site of CCF:

http://www.cheetah.org/?nd=ccf_kenya

Sounds like these of the same people who have been wanting to set up a drive-through "Cheetah Zoo" by capturing wild cheetah in the Mara.

As far as I know wild cheetahs in the Mara are not to be confiscated and put in cages for life. Who are these people? and does KWS approve of their methods? But then again, this is the Mara which is controlled by the whims of the Narok County Council and, of course, money talks.

This cat will have to be in a cage for the rest of its life as it has no hunting ability. If released at a future time
when it is grown - it will become an easy victim for lions, hyenas, leopard....

I know about the drive through zoo plans & to be honest I never thought to put the two together.

You could well be right about the link & it could be Paula is being duped as so many caring people are. Especially as there are a number of famous wildlife cameramen & guides mentioned who regularly contribute to the BBC.
I know she has never been to the Marra & lives with a house full of rescued animals.
I have passed your concerns to her.

I have brought your concerns to the attention of the fund manager here is her reply.

No your not at all, your just trying to understand, and get a better picture, like me.
I have spoken to jackson before about the cheetah zoo, as I had researched before and seen links about it, And it was apparently NEMA who wanted to capture these cheetahs and cage them!
KWS said the work had been halted but then other sources have said otherwise.
Jackson had been to various meetings about this, but it was mixed answers and noone seemed sure what was going on. I will have to see if he made any progress on finding out what whats been going on.

The Miujisa funds was purely to get some money together for this orpaned cheetah they found after its mum and siblings were killed in the Masai Mara. The KWS instructed that Miujisa go to the Nairobi orphanage and Jackson has kept track of her ever since, seeing as he and the rangers in the masai mara found her. I seriously doubt Jackson is involved with the cheetah zoo, and I do think that he does not agree at all in what NEMA plan to do. If you would like the links about what I heard about the cheetah zoo then I will send them to you.

I also have had an email from Laurie marker, from the CCF, who sent their email to Jackson too, so they have been in contact with him before about it.
Jackson did not want Miujisa oto end up at the orphanage but KWS instructed she go there.
We all didn't want to give up on Miujisa and thats why we have continued to support her, but jackson is keeping tabs on all donations recieved..
I also am in conact with a lady from the orphanage and I have a member who lives in nairobi, who updates us with pictures and info on how shes doing when he can. Jackson does the same when he visits too.

I hope this gives you a better understanding of what its all about, and also all the materials were bought and monitered by Jackson, so he knew exactly where all the funds were going. Which was the Miujisa for a bigger enclosure. In the beginning it was for a bigger enclosure in the mara, but since the KWS instucted her to go to nairobi, she has a bigger enclosure there.

I have not been offended by the comments you had sent, as I can understand where they are coming from, but I hope I have made it easier to understand.

NEMA does not "capture and cage" animals...it's a government agency whose sole function is to review proposals for new construction in environmentally sensitive areas - both on private and government lands.

If the cheetah cub was sent to the rundown zoo called the Nairobi Orphanage (certainly NOT to be confused with Sheldrick's Orphanage which rehabilitates orphaned animals and reintroduces them into the wild) - the remainder of its life will be bleak indeed. The fastest mammal on earth will live in a cage for the rest of its life with no change to run, no chance to hunt, no chance to interact with others of its species....in other words, no chance to live a cheetah life.

If the cub is now in that government run facility - what are the donations for? And who is pocketing the money?

The Maasai Mara of course if one of the most mismanaged wildlife reserves on the planet and is totally corrupt - reserve fees are never plowed back into wildlife conservation, anti-poaching, or infrastructure. Tourist vans can ride anywhere they please causing degradation of the reserve ecosystems and poaching for elephant ivory, rhino horn and bushmeat is completely out of hand. Dozens of new tourist lodges have been built despite severely impacting wildlife corridors. Both British and American scientific studies have told a sad tale of the large mammal population crashing in the last 15 years - eliminating up to 95% of its most prized species like lion, elephant and giraffes.

In my humble opinion - all of Kenya's wildlife heritage, its parks and reserves, should be managed under a newly invigorated Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) run by wildlife conservation professionals.The county councils who run the Mara, Samburu/Bufffalo Springs, and Amboseli are a dismal failure and are open to any scam artist with bribe money and who are running the reserves into the ground by ignorance and greed.