A group of hardworking animal conservationists is running a non-profit cheetah preservation center where a young man has formed an incredible bond with the apex predators.
27-year-old Harry Hinds was just a teen when he took on a role of a caretaker of the big cats at the Cheetah Outreach centers in Franschhoek and Somerset West, South Africa.
Through the years, the man has formed an incredible with the predators and revealed he can sleep, eat, and play with the animals that have grown accustomed to people.
Watch Man Feed And Play With Cheetahs!
[rumble video_id=v5ing9 domain_id=u7nb2]
“You never take the respect that the cheetah has for you, or the respect you have for a cheetah for granted. They are an apex predator, so you’re always cautious, you’re always aware, and you’re always respectful,” Harry admitted in an interview with Barcroft Studios.
As the staff explained, their program was launched over 20 years ago after the cheetah populations plummeted drastically from 100,000 to just a few thousand.
“There’s not one single factor that’s contributing to the decline of the wild population. It’s something that’s difficult to fully grasp. And our goal here is to shine some light on the complexity,” Jackson, one of the volunteers, said.
“South Africa actually has the third-highest population of cheetah in the world, so it’s incredibly important to keep that population plentiful and conserved.”
As Harry added, humans have everything to do with the decline of the majority of endangered animal species.
“With human habitat and human population exponentially increasing, all these animals in the wild are losing their habitat. Cheetah is just one species that’s under threat,” he claimed.
Speaking of his life with the cheetahs, Harry added:
“To be in an enclosure on your own is very special because it’s just you and the animal, and they really get to know you quite well. To have a cheetah come up and purr for you and groom you, or put his head on your shoulder is a very special connection to experience.
“Obviously cheetahs are apex predators and we’re always putting safety first. We’re never going to do anything that’s unsafe. But also it’s just really important to make sure that the cheetahs are comfortable. They tend to respect you back and have no issues whatsoever.”
Aside from providing a safe haven for the animals and raising awareness about the importance of their preservation, Cheetah Outreach is also working with farmers to stop them from trapping and killing the predators and use alternative methods to protect their livestock.
“You might think ‘what is a dog going to do to stop a cheetah?’” Harry suggested.
“Well, actually, cheetahs can see five kilometers in detail, and if they see another predator like a big dog, they’re not going to trade off conflicts with that dog in order to hunt something like livestock. So these dogs are actually a more effective deterrent for predators than an electric fence.
“I really feel that cheetahs need the support they can get from multi-faceted aspects of conservation and this is one way where we can really make a difference.”
What are your thoughts on this story? Let us know in the comments and don’t forget to SHARE this post with your family and friends and follow us on Facebook for more news and stories!
[rumble video_id=vgjbe domain_id=u7nb2]