Naankuse Wildlife Sanctuary - A Place Where Man And Beast Live In Harmony

Visit Namibia's Naankuse Wildlife Sanctuary and you are in for a treat - cheetahs and humans coexisting in harmony in an environment where there is no predator or prey.

The three cats, one male and two females that happily trot beside the San tribesman have been at the sanctuary since they were cubs. One lost its mother to a poacher, while the other two, to a wild animal. Luckily, the cubs were brought to this sanctuary where they not only had the local tribesmen to look after them, but also, Lucky, a three-legged cheetah who stepped in as surrogate mum.

While the tribesmen spoiled them by feeding them, tucking them into specially made sleeping bags and giving them mice to play with, Lucky trained them on how to hunt and survive in the wild.

Today, even though the cheetahs are teenagers and spend their nights hunting for food in the wild, during the daytime they hang out with the tribesmen - either taking long walks, playing fetch, or simply lounging around watching television inside the sanctuary owner, Marlice Van Vuuren's, home.

Sadly, this amazing sight may not even be a possibility in the next century - That's because both cat and tribesman are on the endangered list. It is estimated that there are only between 12,000 to 15,000 cheetahs left in the wild.

As for the San tribesman, also known as the Kalahari Bushmen - While they once roamed all over the Kalahari desert in the thousands, they are now estimated to be only 35,000 left. The nomadic tribe that used to spend their entire days hunting and collecting veld foods, and living in temporary dwellings have been forced to change their lifestyle due to many different factors - A decrease in wildlife, government restrictions on hunting, the primitive weapons they use and most importantly, the distance of wildlife from the settlements they have been forced to live in, by South African officials.

The Naankuse Wildlife Sanctuary, which doubles up as tourist resort was founded in 2007 by Marlice Van Vuuren. Besides the cheetahs, the 20 tribesman who live there, also take care of a number of other orphaned animals, including lions, baboons and wild dogs.

Source; dailymail.co.uk, www.naankuse.com