Decan Cheetah Refuge
There's an interesting story behind this refuge. Apparently, a Somali cheetah was rescued at the port in Djibouti and turned over to a local veterinarian. He nursed it back to health and then came up with the idea of establishing this refuge. Visitors, who pay to enter and buy souvenirs, support the project and this in turn has caused it to grow to its current size. FYI, this refuge is about a 30-minute drive south of Djibouti City and only about 20kms from the Somaliland border.
The first picture is the entrance to the refuge and the second is a typical tree you see in this part of Djibouti. I will be posting pictures of the animals (the stars of the show) in the coming days.
What a lovely tree! What is it?
ReplyDeleteWe asked the tour guide but he didn't know the name in English. And, there aren't a lot of resources on the Internet concerning Djibouti much less more specifically, the plant life.
ReplyDeleteIt is an Acacia tree. The first cheetah, Tessai, was chained up as baby in a local resturant and the owners were convinced that she was sick and neeeded to be taken to the Vets (who is the founder of the Refuge) where he was able to coordinate with the Djiboutian police to confiscate her. Several animals have been rescued now and the Refuge is over 200 acres I estimate.
ReplyDeleteHey, Scott!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the background information. Do you live in DJ?