Small
Predators
Baggins
Serval (Leptailurus serval)
Baggins was born at Moholoholo Rehabilitation
Centre on 17 February, 2007 and joined Cheetah
Outreach at three weeks of age as a serval
ambassador. His role at Cheetah Outreach is to
show visitors the different adaptations African cats
have to specific niches in the environment as well
as to demonstrate just one of the other small
predator species that benefit from the presence of
a livestock guarding dog on South African
farmlands.
Adopted by Jacqui Friedling
Lazarus and Liberty
Serval (Leptailurus serval)
Lazarus and Liberty were born to our servals
Baggins and Legacy at Cheetah Outreach on 21
October, 2014. The brothers were hand-raised
from a week of age to become serval
ambassadors to raise awareness of the plight of
smaller carnivores on South African farms and to
highlight the Livestock Guarding Dog Programme.
Grace
Caracal (Caracal caracal)
Grace was born on 5 January, 2016, and hand-
raised at Bester Birds and Animals Zoo in
Johannesburg. She came to Cheetah Outreach at
3 months of age to replace our caracal
ambassador Malaika and to help raise awareness
of the plight of caracals and other small predators
on South African farms, and to show how caracals
benefit from the presence of livestock guarding
dogs on farmland. She has big shoes to fill but
with her confidence and friendliness, she is sure
to become a great ambassador.
Adopted by Deborah Wettlaufer
Ntombi and Moya
Black-backed jackal (Canis mesomelas)
Ntombi and Moya, brother and sister, were born at
Lory Park Animal Sanctuary near Johannesburg
on 26 August, 2008, and joined Cheetah Outreach
at three months of age as black-backed jackal
ambassadors. Their role is to help raise
awareness of the plight of black-back jackals and
other small predators on South African farms and
to highlight the Livestock Guarding Dog
Programme. Like caracals, jackals are
persecuted by farmers and benefit from the
presence of livestock guarding dogs on farmland
in South Africa. Ntombi means ‘girl’ and Moya
means ‘wind’ in Xhosa.
Adopted by Eric and Kat D'Dio
Janet
Bat-eared fox (Otocyon megalotis)
Janet joined Cheetah Outreach at 3 ½ months of
age. Janet was born at Lory Park Animal
Sanctuary near Johannesburg on 10 October,
2010. She was hand-reared As an ambassador
for her species, she raises awareness of the plight
of bat-eared foxes and other small predators on
South African farmland and highlight the
importance of the Livestock Guarding Dog
Programme which results in removal of traps and
poison on South African farms. Janet greets
visitors in encounters at our facility.
Janet adopted by Sherryl Elkin
Sebastian
Meerkat (Suricata suricatta)
Sebastian, a meerkat born 11 November, 2006,
was a pet before going to Moholoholo Rehab
Centre in Limpopo Province. Since Moholoholo
has so many animals to care for, they weren’t able
to give Sebastian the level of attention that they
felt he needed. Cheetah Outreach offered to give
him a home and the kind of interaction this very
social animal needs. Sebastian has won the
hearts of staff, volunteers and guests with his
engaging character.
Adopted by Petra Krainer-Bender
Minki
Minki, a female meerkat, was born in 2009 in the
wild, on a farm in the Klein Karoo area of South
Africa, but was orphaned when her mother was
killed by dogs. She was rescued and hand-raised
by a couple in Stellenbosch near Cheetah
Outreach. When she was 5 months of age, she
came to Cheetah Outreach, and after a very easy
transition, lives with sebastian in his enclosure.
Minki is full of energy and loves to play. We are all
happy that Sebastian now has the company of his
own species and is no longer alone.
Thanks to Patrick Browne for adopting Minki.
Firefox and Diggory
Firefox was part of a litter born at Cheetah
Outreach to Brad and Janet on 2 November,
2013. She remained at Cheetah Outreach to keep
Janet company after she lost her mate. Diggory
came from Bester Birds and Animals Zoo in
August 2014 to be a companion to Janet and
Firefox. Both join Janet as ambassadors for their
species and raising awareness about the plight of
small predators on South African farms.
Firefox adopted by Kat and Eric W. D'Dio
Diggory adopted by IQ Business
Information about Bat-eared Foxes
Adopted by Kat and Eric W. D'Dio
Forrest
Forrest was born in late December 2018 to two of
our bat-eared foxes, Firefox and Diggory. Though
reared by Firefox, Diggory and his grandmother
Janet, he became acquainted with humans as
soon as he started coming out of the burrow. The
staff decided to name him Forrest after the film
character Forrest Gump. Forrest has a lot of
curiosity about his surroundings and enjoys
playing with a variety of toys. As an ambassador
for his species, he raises awareness of the plight
of bat-eared foxes and other small predators on
South African farmland and highlights the
importance of the Livestock Guarding Dog
Programme which results in removal of traps and
poison on South African farms. We hope that
Forrest will eventually join Janet in greeting
visitors in encounters at our facility.
Adopted by IQ Business
Information about Bat-eared Foxes
Scoop
Scoop was rescued from unfortunate
circumstances in the Northern Cape Province of
South Africa. He was approximately 4-6 weeks of
age and very dehydrated when a Strand local
found him for sale on the side of the road in May
2019. After being confiscated and nursed back to
health with appropriate fluids and nutrition, Scoop
became too human-habituated for rehabilitation.
He has found a permanent home at our facility in
Somerset West, joining established meerkats
Sebastian and Minki who play an important role in
educating the public at Cheetah Outreach -
especially the discouragement of keeping
meerkats as illegal pets.
Adopted by Patrick Browne