I know many of you have heard through different sources that the 'cheetah zoo' may have been halted for now... here's an additional source from someone in the Mara, who provides a bit more detail on what this would actually entail if they ever become successful in moving forward... I am certainly glad that there are concerned individuals keeping a 'watchful-eye' on ground in the Mara, as what 'officials' in Kenya convey, is not always the reality.

The infamous “Cheetah Rehabilitation Centre” might have been stopped, at least for the moment. Many people all around the world have complained against it with the Kenya government and NEMA. Believe it or not, the stated goal of this project was to establish a wildlife drive thru zoo in the midst of a wildlife conservancy. This will be accomplished by darting, manhandling, capturing, caging and maintaining in captivity the limited and endangered cheetah population currently found in the Masai Mara region. Thereafter these wildlife animals (including separated breeding males, breeding females and females with litters) are to be put on public display in the twenty four (24!!!) holding cage pens that KCF proposes to construct for tourists visit purposes, presumably based on a ticket fee arrangement. These isolated captivity areas shall have a size of 1,000 square feet each and shall be accessible by vehicle drive thru with intermittent stopping by pedestrian tourists to view the captive animals on display; all this is probably not going to happen, thank you to the emails and letters of many of you had wrote.

According to the Mara Triangle on wildlifedirect.org- 4-22-09:

And lastly it seems that construction over at "Mara's Cheetah Zoo" has not been halted despite KWS saying that it had. Fences keep away any visitors on the ground, but a flight over the top reveals that the work still continues...

Simple awful.

I wrote another letter to dgnema@nema.go.ke

What else can be done?

And I wrote the Kenyan agent I am in contact with about an upcoming trip and told them I may not come to Kenya if this occurs. That is not an idle threat. I'd really be torn whether to go or not.

I wrote to KWS again yesterday. The reply I got from the authorities this morning is:

"People have a right to build what they want with their land but take from me there will be no ZOO!".

I've also written to Joseph at Mara Triangle thanking him for keeping watch on this. This will bear watching in the future.

I love you all!
Well done!