Approximately 1,000 of the world’s remaining 7,000 cheetahs are found in Namibia, known as the Cheetah Capitol of the World. However, 90% of Namibia’s cheetahs live on livestock and game farms, outside protected areas, alongside rural farming communities, putting them in conflict with these farming enterprises. Cheetahs and other predators have traditionally been considered vermin and not a valuable component of a healthy ecosystem. During the 1980’s, Namibian livestock and game farmers halved the cheetah population, removing (trapping and killing) nearly 8,000 cheetahs from the landscape. To stop the decline of wild cheetahs, in 1990 the Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF) was founded, and set up a permanent research and conservation Centre in Namibia. In order to maintain ecosystem balance, conservation strategies have been developed by CCF to encourage sustainable land use while accommodating coexistence with native predator species. From CCFs early research into conflict mitigation, CCF re­searchers began developing and testing predator-friendly livestock management techniques and tools on CCF’s 158,000-acre integrated Model Farm and Wildlife Reserve such as the use of CCF Livestock Guarding Dogs and integrated livestock and wildlife management training programs called Future Farmers of Africa (FFA). FFA training courses build practical skills, enabling rural Namibians to engage in sustainable livestock farming that pro­vides direct and indirect economic benefits. One of the most-effective predator management techniques CCF has implemented is its Livestock Guarding Dog program. Since 1994, CCF has bred and placed over 800 Anatolian shepherd and Kangal dogs with farmers, at little cost, to help guard farmer’s small stock. The presence of these large dogs, with a loud bark, acts as an avoidance and is usually enough to keep most predators away from flocks. Farmers who use CCF LGDs report a drop in predation rates ranging from 80- 100%, thus reducing pressure on farmers to kill or capture cheetahs and other predators. CCF is adapting these programs to the Horn of Africa to help stop the illegal wildlife pet trade, often caused by human wildlife conflict. CCF Namibia has a well-developed international Internship program which University of Nebraska Natural Resource Management students participate in annually.

Dr. Laurie Marker is the Founder and Executive Director of the Cheetah Conservation Fund.

Dr. Laurie Marker is a Conservation Scientist and one of the world’s leading cheetah experts. She founded Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF) as the 1st global organization to save wild cheetahs in 1990. In 1974, Dr. Marker began cheetah work at Oregon’s Wildlife Safari, managing the veterinary clinic and developed their cheetah breeding program. In 1977 she conducted pioneering research in Namibia, rewilding a captive born cheetah and learned that livestock farmers were killing hundreds of cheetahs yearly. Over the next decade she traveled to cheetah range countries studying wild cheetahs. In 1982, her collaborative research with the National Cancer Institute and the Smithsonian’s National Zoo, identified the cheetah’s lack of genetic diversity. She joined the Smithsonian in 1988 as Executive Director of NOAHS (New Opportunities in Animal Health Sciences) Center and moved to Washington DC. In 1990, at Namibia’s independence, she set up CCF and relocated to Namibia, to save wild cheetahs, developing the first predator conservation program outside protected areas, and setting the stage for her research into cheetah biology, ecology, conservation and integrated livestock, wildlife, and rangeland management techniques to mitigate conflict. In 1994, Marker developed the livestock guarding dog program, where over 800 Anatolian and Kangal guarding dogs have been bred and placed with farmers to protect their livestock. In addition, she developed CCF’s Research and Education Centre and 158,000-acre private wildlife reserve/ conservancy and model farm, veterinary clinic and genetics laboratory. In 2017, Dr. Marker set up a field base in Somaliland to care for confiscated cheetah cubs from the illegal wildlife pet trade, where they currently have 96 orphan cheetahs. In addition, she has developed programs in the Horn of Africa to help stop the illegal wildlife trade. In 2023, Marker helped with the reintroduction of cheetahs to India, where they had been extinct for over 70 years. Through her work in Namibia, as a global model, she now works to develop range-wide research and community-based programs. Dr. Marker holds a DPhil in Zoology from Oxford University in the UK, is an A.D. White Professor-at-Large Emeritus at Cornell University in New York, and an Adjunct Professor at University of Nebraska in the School of Natural Resource Management. She has more than 170 peer-reviewed scientific papers and four books on cheetah. Marker’s awards including the President’s Award for Conservation (2020) and the Lowell Thomas Award (2010) from the Explorer’s Club, the Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement (2010), the E.O. Wilson Biodiversity Technology Pioneer Award (2015), and a Hero for the Planet from Time Magazine. She recently received a nomination for the prestigious 2025 Indianapolis Prize. Dr. Marker’s motto is “Save the Cheetah and Change the World”.