The title is a bit misleading in my opinion and it certainly does not convey the full story although I can only make a judgement based upon the story’s narrative which originates from the Times newspaper. I have adopted the newspaper’s headline.
PICTURE HAS BEEN REMOVED AS IT MAY UPSET VIEWERS.
A 10-year-old boy, Aiden Davis, was forced to punch a cheetah in order to force the cat to release him from his jaws. What is surprising is that the cheetah was behind a fence when he grabbed and bit the boy. I don’t believe his life was not at stake but it must have been shocking.
PICTURE HAS BEEN REMOVED AS IT MAY UPSET VIEWERS.
The event occurred at the Kwa Cheetah breeding centre at the Nambiti game reserve, near Ladysmith, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. So the cheetah, a large male, was behind the fence of an enclosure.
The boy’s stepfather, Craig Fry said:
“As the kids turned, the cat ran full speed into the fence and hit it at full speed. His head went through it, his paws went through it, and the fence pushed out giving him extra distance to grab the kids. He bit down on Aiden’s shoulder blade.”
So you can see that this cheetah did something abnormal in my opinion. He charged at a fixed object at full speed which was liable to result in injury. Cheetahs don’t do that sort of thing. In the wild, cheetahs avoid being injured because even small injuries can have a detrimental effect upon that which they rely upon to eat: their speed. Without their speed they cannot survive.
I would suggest, therefore, that this cheetah was, for want of a better description, mentally unbalanced or desperate to attack a child as prey. If there is a mental imbalance it is possibly due to the fact that he is in an unnatural environment which is probably leading to stress and frustration. I realise that the purpose of this breeding centre is to try and build up the cheetah population as they are released into the wild, we are told, but to me the whole process is artificial and unnatural. More resources need to be directed at true conservation rather than a cycle of killing and breeding. Is this captive breeding population self-sustaining? Or do they have to import cheetahs from the wild to sustain it?
Back to the story….The cat having forced his head through the wire fencing was able to grab the boy’s rucksack and in doing so pull the boy back so hard that he fell. At this point the cheetah started biting the boy on his left shoulder and under his arm and on his chest.
School friends tried to pull Aiden free but the cat refused to give up his prey until a nearby handler ran across and forced his fingers up the animal’s nostrils whereupon the cheetah released the boy.
Apparently, the same cat had attacked an elderly woman the day before. He had torn away chunks of flesh on her left arm and bit her on her head. She is recovering in hospital. Further, in June of this year another visitor to the reserve, Leslie-Anne Marais was also attacked by a large male cheetah called Sky. I don’t know whether this is the same cat. Again the cheetah refused to let go until a worker at the breeding centre clamped his hand over the cat’s nose.
We are told that the centre is open to visitors shortly before the cats are due to be released into the wild (is that relevant?) Aiden’s experience has left him in fear of cheetahs. He used to like them but now he says that he doesn’t. What can you expect? Aiden’s school reported that he had suffered “a few scratches”. It was worse than that because he needed stitches.
What I can expect and what the public should expect is for people to find more enlightened and sustainable ways to protect the cheetah in the wild. It is time to stop the commercialisation of beautiful wild cat species. South Africa appears to be the centre of this sort of commercialisation. There are many canned lion hunts in South Africa where lions are bred for the sole purpose of being killed at close range by rich trophy hunters. It is quite bizarre. South Africans are feeding the bloodlust mentality of trophy hunters.
Donnette: I’m so sorry to hear how appallingly the whole incident has been handled by those concerned. It’s shameful that they’ve denied any liability. I get the impression they wanted this hushed up as quickly as possible 🙁
I can’t begin to imagine how you must be feeling, but you have my admiration for the way you’re handling this. I can quite easily imagine how some parents might have been straight in touch with a lawyer and the media.
Kwa Cheetah breeding centre is considered ‘questionable’ on that FB page ‘Volunteers in Afria Beware’. I get the impression it’s because the centre allows visitors close contact with the cheetahs. However in light of recent revlations, I’m now concerned for the safety of the volunteers at this organisation. Without immediate change, I fear it may only be a matter of time before another attack occurs.
The centre also needs to consider that the cheetahs are either becoming increasingly frustrated at being confined, or are stressed by their living conditions/other factors. Unless the animals are eventually returned to the wild, they might as well just call themselves a zoo if they’re going to charge the public to see captive wild animals.
Well said Michele. It is always the case: businesses protect their profit and their attitude confirms to me that they exist primarily as a business and not as a true charitable conservation organisation.
Michele, by the way – just an aside, this is the first public/online/printed photograph of the gravity of the injuries, appearing on Michael’s wonderful website. The others were considered too graphic to be published.
I thank you for taking an interest in Aiden and in the welfare of these magnificent creatures who need to be where God intended – in the wild, running free, to be and exist naturally.
Thank you Michele.
Although I have written a lot in this forum, I have been fairly silent elsewhere, although actively involved in social media as a career. My son’s welfare is and always has been my priority, so you can imagine the surprise when informed the injuries were “only a few scratches”. I only discovered the severity in the evening on his return.
I am actually at a loss for words. The truth of the matter is that the teacher elected to take the children on a safari/game drive after Aiden’s incident – he was in excruciating agony, and from reports by the other parents of the children who witnessed the incident, they were equally terrified which has manifested in their normal lives now. However, praise has been given to the teacher in charge and the centre for their wonderful ‘quick’ action. I wonder if there would have been a similar response had it been their child. In any event I digress.
I have been trying to be factual without letting the emotions creep in and cloud my judgment, but anger, despondency, frustration, heartbreak all threaten to suffocate me – particularly now that there has been a written denial of any liability from the institutions concerned.
I will fight for my son, and I will fight for the release of the cheetah into their natural habitats, and again, pray that some good will come of this tragedy.
Donnette: Oh my, those injuries are truly horrendous and for the centre to have delayed Aiden’s access to medical treatment was very callous. No wonder this attack has caused your son both physical and emotional trauma. I wish him well in his recovery and hope that with time he can put this nightmare experience behind him.
Better safety measures should have been put into place after the first cheetah attack on a visitor. Given that cheetahs can accelerate from 0-60mph in approx. 2 seconds, the safety zone should always have been at least 4 metres around the enclosures to prevent any potential for momentum to allow them to reach through the fence to grab a visitor.
I can understand the centre wanting to avoid publicity about these attacks, but the safety of visitors/staff and the welfare of the cats themselves, are issues which urgently need to be addressed.
Thanks Donette. Being his mother makes your input through comments invaluable. It is quite rare to receive comments from people with first hand experiences. Many thanks again for your comments and the photo. It is a bit unpleasant but it is the truth. It is important to see the truth. I hope your son gets over the experience fully in due course.