Full story here

Ch

Wow, thanks Chris.
I didn't see that coming!
Some good news to come out of the Sahara is most welcome

Sam

in 08 on the way from Tamanraset to Djanet (via Tassili du Hogar) we have seen the cheetah footprints - our tuareg guide told us that they are quite rear ... but I haven't tought about that since I saw Chris's post.

Tomaz

Well nót news really since it was reported in February. :)

But very nice and surprising since noone knew they were there.
And that means there may be more of them.
Hopefully the extinct (in the wild) but once common scimitar-horned oryx will soon be re-introduced in the desert-
http://www.kathleenmariestudio.com/i...ara_sunset.jpg

Dear friends,

You may find plenty of info about cheetah, and other charismatic Saharan mammals here:
SCF - Sahara Conservation Fund


Cheers,
José

Just back from Immidir (400km north of Hoggar) and a couple of days out of Tadjemout our guide was rather perturbed to spot what he described as leopard [cheetah?] tracks, a 'very long' animal and one that can take down a camel as he vividly described.
That said, in his 60-odd years out there he'd never seen one, though we never saw jackals either, despite their plentiful tracks and 3am howlings.

A lot more water out there this year in certain places - at Tin Djerane (Day 8) a heron flew off from a grassy guelta. Not sure i've seen them out there before.

Ch

In 2004 in the Hoggar we came across a herd of 20 or so goats with their throats ripped out - not normal behaviour for a cheetah - it looked like a wild, frenzied attack and I have always wondered what did it.

Normally it’s easy to spot if the footprint belongs to a Cheetah or Leopard.
The tracks of a leopard look pretty similar to a lion (or most other cats) but the cheetah has a more “advanced” footprint.

I have seen tracks of Cheetah and also heard them in Chad but not closer to Algeria. In northern Sudan I found some tracks that I think were from a big cat but they where in poor shape.

Wildlife and Desrt Travel
 

Next year i will be retiring from full time work,moving to Spain and doing what I love best.....overland travel.

This news reinvigourates my determination to travel in the Sahara.

Some years ago I was a peripheral member of a group of committed people who were instrumental in getting the status of the Arabian Leopard recognized in the UAE.OK its thinking with the heart but this is the sort of thing that puts us all closer to the planet and nature at its rawest and best.

My hats off to the scientists and travellers alike...........bring it on!

Another cheetah
 

Cheetah watch
 

More possible cheetah action - this time from Jabbaren up on the Tassili plateau southeast of Djanet last Friday.
These caught our guide's eye over the more common but smaller jackal tracks - he reckoned they were 'today'.

Other less common animals actually spotted on the plateau included 'marmots' (never seen them in Alg only Mori), plus a hare or two.

Ch

Chris,

Can you email me a better resolution photo. I know of someone who can positively identify the tracks, and will be delighted if indeed they turn out to be cheetah.

Edit: the large tracks on the right are indeed cheetah :)

Fancy that - thanks for finding out. Would be great to see it one day.

The morning before at Alandimen (or something like) guelta a few km north the hobbled donkeys took a lot of tracking down. Maybe the cheetah spooked them, although we did hear what sounded like a jackal that night.

I'm told the 'marmots' we saw are actually called rock hyrax.

Ch

I have seen hyrax on most of the ascents we have made in the Tafilalet. Usually they scurry away when they hear visitors coming, but this pair we saw in 2011 obediently posed for the cameras.

http://www.fjexpeditions.com/expedit...li11/P2698.jpg

How fascinating! These rock hyrax are the closest living genetic relatives to elephants and also find them on Table Mountain, Cape Town (ZA) and surrounds.

But I don't think anyone has seen cheetah on Table Mountain recently... You still do get some in the mountains an hour or two east and not far inland.