Tees for Animal Lover
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Wow! This volunteer loves animals so much that she has no problem cuddling with the big cats that most people would be weary of getting close to. Watch this video, and if you only give it a few seconds, fast forward to 0:42 for the most adorable moment of all.
The volunteer is having a little siesta with her best friend, Eden the cheetah. This isn’t your ordinary relaxing siesta; she’s laying down next to the cheetah and even goes in for a kiss, which Eden gladly reciprocates. This animal lover’s Youtube profile name is Swiatoczamigoski; if you click through her videos, you’ll see several more clips of adorable cheetahs, including those with cubs. She is volunteering at The Cheetah Experience, which is a non-profit center in South Africa aimed at conserving the endangered cheetah population. The group’s intention is to release the cheetahs back into a ‘protected wild’, where they will be interfered with as little as possible by humans, yet will still be monitored closely by vets and researchers.
Cheetahs are incredibly fast when they move, and they’re dwindling in population just as quickly. They’re part of 10 Species That We May Loose Forever If We Don’t Do Something Now. See Why Cheetahs are Threatened and What YOU Can Do To Help.
Have to agree with Stef below. Having been on several conversation volunteer trips as much as I love the cheetah\’s, orangs & snow leopards that I have volunteered with it does them no favours to be considered pets. If the organisation running this trip was genuinely interested in rehabilitating these animals and releasing them into the wild they would have a strict hands off policy. This is just another example of the exploitation of animals for the financial benefit of humans and just encourages the trade in endangered wildlife and undermines those organisations that are genuinely trying the preserve these animals in their natural habitat. As a volunteer if you are given a choice between working hard on a projects with a strict hands off policy or going to one where they let you cuddle the animals it\’s not surprising that people choose the latter. I know of at least organisation that was doing incredibly good work in habitat renewal for cheetah\’s in Namibia, and had a strict hands off policy, which has closed down because they couldn\’t compete with the touchy feely competitors.
One Green Planet should be ashamed of themselves for promoting something which is detrimental to the welfare and future existence of all endangered animals. This actually makes me wonder whether you have any interest in the preservation of these species at all, or are you just exploiting these animals for money as well?
Volunteering for a cause is a great thing to do, but the line "This volunteer loves animals so much that she has no problem cuddling with the big cats that most people would be weary of getting close to," is incredibly ignorant. Cuddling with wild animals shows no love for the cats. The act is far more likely to damage them in the long term by habituating individuals to humans and spreading the mistaken idea that these are animals that should be cuddled with. That very idea which is so popular, and so hard to combat, is a huge part of what leads to the problem of irresponsible exotic breeding and ownership. Not to mention if the organization intends to release these cats into the wild, it\’s a terrible thing for them to be habituated to humans – it could very easily get them shot later in their lives.
It would be far more loving to respect the fact that as much as you might want to snuggle with a big cat, it\’s better for their health and safety (and the health and safety of all their kin!) not to do it. Not to mention, I don\’t know many people who are "weary" of large cats. Wary of them, perhaps, but certainly not tired of them. How can you grow weary of such amazing animals?
My kind of woman :) But I thought this kind of activity was frowned upon?