Our Collaborations
Science is the keystone to develop solutions to real world problems. We therefore follow an approach which is best described as evidence-based conservation. In fields where various interest groups meet, overlap and potentially contradict, it is crucial to involve all stakeholders into the entire process. Solutions will only be sustainable and lasting when all perspectives are included and the major requirements of the various interest groups are met. Therefore cross-sector communication is a key-aspect of our daily work especially in regards of human wildlife conflict. We firmly believe in co-creation of knowledge from the very beginning of any of our projects.
For these reasons we have built up a network of trustful relationships with partners from academia, politics, economy and engineering, zoological institutions and civil society. Furthermore, we conceptualized and continuously practice a “real-world laboratory” - a circular approach that closely integrates science and the society.
Political Partners
Ministry of Environment,Forestry & Tourism Namibia
The Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism (MEFT) in Windhoek is the key institution in the conservation of Namibian ecosystems, flora and fauna. Namibia was one of the first and still is one of very few countries which states the conservation of nature in its constitution. Together with MEFT we are working on a size estimate of the Namibian cheetah population to identify conservation actions.
Academic Partners
University of Ljubljana
We have a long-term collaboration with the Department of Forestry and Renewable Forest Resources in Ljubljana (Assistant Professor Miha Krofel) on large carnivore ecology and conservation in Africa. Our current collaboration investigates the interactions between cheetahs and leopards and the factors influencing these interactions. this will improve our understanding of inter-specific communication and spatio-temporal co-occurrence of sympatric carnivore species.
University of Namibia (UNAM)
Ortwin Aschenborn and the veterinary faculty of the University of Namibia have a unique expertise in wildlife veterinary medicine including chemical immobilization. We are working and have worked on various projects together resulting in more than ten scientific publications.
Ongava Research Centre (ORC)
The Ongava Research Centre (ORC) is conducting research on large mammal and bird species with a focus on adaptations on arid environments, conservation and human-wildlife interactions. Together with ORC and other collaborations we are currently establishing a project on the influences of environmental and anthropogenic drivers on carnivore distribution, intra-guild interactions and responses to human disturbance. With this knowledge we aim to develop conservation action steps which go hand in hand with human-carnivore coexistence.
Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST)
The Department of Agriculture and Natural Research Sciences at NUST has a focus on sustainable utilization and management of natural resources. Together with NUST we are investigating the spatial ecology and density of cheetahs in the arid environment of the Namib Desert. The results from this relatively undisturbed habitat will be important to assess the future of this cheetah population when global warming becomes more severe.
University of Pretoria
The department of Paraclinical Science focuses on pathology, pharmacology, toxicology and veterinary public health. In collaboration with this department we investigated the biochemistry of captive and free-ranging cheetahs. Captive cheetahs had higher values of unsaturated fatty acids and urea, both most likely due to their diet. These results are useful to think about adapting the diet of captive cheetahs with supplemented multivitamin/mineral power.
University of Vienna
The Konrad Lorenz Research Center (KLF), which is linked to the University in Vienna, studies the behaviour of large bird species and has developed various citizen science projects. Together with the KLF and other collaborators we have provided a review on successful citizen science projects in wildlife biology and elaborated factors under which such project are likely to produce useful results. Creating mutual trust among different groups of interests (e.g. researchers, stakeholders, students) is a crucial factor for long-lasting success.
University of Zurich
We have a long-term collaboration with the Department of Clinical Diagnostics and Services at the Vetsuisse Faculty on viruses, retroviruses and hemoplasmas in cheetahs and other carnivore species. Together with other collaborators we described for the first-time antibodies against feline leukaemia virus and Rauscher murine leukemis virus in captive and free-ranging cheetahs and demonstrated that vaccinations on captive cheetahs against various feline viruses result in adequate immune response. We also described the first molecular evidence of a hemoplasma infection in a free-ranging cheetah.
Ulm University
The Department of Conservation Genomics and EcoHealth at the Ulm University has an interest in genomic work on immunity and gut microbiomes of wildlife species. Cheetahs have a good immunocompetence although they have a relatively low diversity at their major histocompatibility (MHC) genes. We investigated together the reason for this apparent contradiction and showed that cheetahs have several functionally distinct MHC supertypes which might allow them to present a broad range of antigens to T-cells. Our studies on gut microbiomes revealed cheetahs having less bacterial taxa than black-backed jackals which is likely based on the more restricted diet of cheetahs. In addition, captive cheetahs had more potentially pathogenic bacteria than free-ranging ones, also likely based on diet plus on interactions with humans and domestic animals. Nevertheless, all captive cheetahs were in very good health.
Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut
Our collaboration with the FLI started with the National Reference Laboratory for Rabies and more recently expanded to the Institute for Epidemiology to work on apicomplexan parasites in cheetahs and other mammalian species. We detected in 5% of free-ranging cheetahs low antibody levels against rabies virus suggesting that cheetahs mounted an adequate response after infection. A study on apicomplexan parasites in 506 individuals of 12 wildlife species revealed seroprevalence for Toxoplasma gondii in carnivores between 52% in cheetahs and 93% in lions, and 10% in blue wildebeest. Seroprevalence for Neospora caninum and Besnoitia besnoiti were lower or absent for all species. Molecular work in now needed to elucidate the sylvatic cycle of these parasites.
University of Konstanz
Dr. Karsten Klein, Sabrina Jaeger and Prof. Falk Schreiber from the University of Konstanz are experts in data visualisation, and develop approaches and algorithms for the visual analysis of complex data sets. Their team at the Chair for Life Science Informatics developed the tool Teamwise to visualize, interpret and analyse movement and behavior data
of animals. In a close collaboration between the biologists from the IZW and the computer scientists from Prof. Schreiber's group we discussed and added new features into Teamwise enabling field biologists to better understand the movements of their study species with a particular focus on revisitation patterns (cheetah marking trees, leopard kill sites, waterholes). We are particularly happy that several students successfully graduated within this collaborative framework.
Partners in economy and engineering
Weimar Institute of Applied Construction Research
The IAB in Weimar has a high-profile expertise and strong ability for innovation. Together with a team of the IAB we further developed our "Smart-Trap" (patent pending) for the live capture of cheetahs for research purposes. The trap has set new standards regarding animal welfare, selectivity and efficiency.
e-obs GmbH
Eobs in Gruenwald is a leading developer of GPS-tracking devices for animal research. For more than a decade we rely on technology made by Eobs to track the movements of cheetahs, leopards and kudus in high temporal resolution.
Partners in Land Use Management
Seeis Conservancy
Collaborating with the CRP since 2001, the Seeis Conservancy is our long-term partner in the farming community in the highlands of central Namibia. The farms of the conservancy members expand over more than 230.000 ha. Within this excellent cooperation, the farmers and we as researchers meet regularly to exchange ideas and develop research goals in a trustful and long-lasting relationship. This approach is best described as a "real-world laboratory".
Auas Oanob Concervancy
Since 2012 the Auas Oanob Concervancy in the Khomas Hochland is another long-term partner of the CRP in the farming community. The farms of the conservancy members are a crucial element of the Namibia Cheetah Survey. The mountainous and dry habitat is an important area also for leopards, thus gives us the excellent opportunity to investigate the interactions between cheetahs and leopards and their effects on livestock and game species.
Non-governmental partner organizations
World Wide Fund For Nature (WWF) Germany
WWF Germany is a long-term partner of our project with an oustanding experience in global conservation of wildlife.
AfriCat Foundation
We have a long-term collaboration with the AfriCat Foundation, which is a non-profit conservation facility for carnivores with an interest in scientific questions. The cheetahs kept in large enclosures are a highly valuable group to compare with free-ranging counterparts. Investigations on the reproductive cycle of captive and free-ranging cheetah females revealed the phenomenon of "asymmetric reproductive aging" in cheetah females, i.e. the importance of breeding early in life to prevent reproductive pathologies. Antibody tests revealed that the vaccines against various feline viruses result in adequate immune responses. We also conducted feeding trials to determine correction factors for prey digestibility and isotopic discrimination of stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes. These parameters helped to determine the diet composition of free-ranging cheetahs which revealed that cheetahs mainly prey on wildlife species rather than livestock.
Large Carnivore Management Association of Namibia (LCMAN)
LCMAN is a non-profit organisation composed of individuals and organisations that promote and support the long-term conservation of healthy populations of free ranging large carnivores in Namibia. We are a member of this organisation and actively contribute to its goals.
Allwetterzoo Münster
The Allwetterzoo Münster is one of the few European zoos that has a successfully breeding cheetah group. Cheetahs in captivity are often difficult to breed which is thought to be due to their low genetic diversity and/or captive allostatic load ("stress"). We measured from breeding and non-breeding cheetah females from various European zoos stress hormones in their faeces and analyzed their studbook breeding records to investigate the reasons for their breeding success. We demonstrated that neither their genetic setup nor stress determines their breeding success, but the age at their first breeding event and the social composition in their enclosures.
Further Partners
OKAMBARA Elephant Lodge
The family Schmitt from Okambara Elephant Lodge on Okambara is the host of our main research station in the south-east of our study area since more than a decade. We are based there with our fully equipped workshop and laboratory. The cheetahs held in large enclosures on the premises of Schmitt's are important study animals for our research to compare with free-ranging cheetahs. They were involved in our studies on reproductive health and contributed to the discovery of the phenomenon of "asymmetric reproductive aging" in cheetah females (see also AfriCat). These cheetahs are also important for research questions the immune system and health of the species and for giving us a lot of opportunities for nice and closeup pictures.
Neu Otjisororindi
The family Lichtenberg from Neu Otjisororindi is the host of our second research station in the north-east of our study area. We are based there with a sophisticated laboratory that allows us to work under sterile conditions. Dr. Christian Lichtenberg is a veterinarian with a practice in Gobabis and an important collaboration partner of our project.