Cheetahs and Humans: Sharing a Landscape

In the last 100 years, over 90% of the cheetah population has been lost. This icon of speed has been fast racing toward extinction. The problem? People. Farmers kill cheetahs who threaten livestock. Dr. Laurie Marker witnessed this tension first-hand and founded the Cheetah Conservation Fund in 1990 in Namibia. With a unique approach that combines empowering farmers to harness the economic value of predators, to create new revenue streams, to protect their livestock through the use of guard dogs and non-lethal means, and to increase productivity and improve livestock management, the cheetah population in Namibia has stabilized at roughly 7,500 individuals.

The Cheetah Conservation Fund has demonstrated that predators, people and livestock can peacefully co-exist. As a result, Namibian livestock farmers’ attitudes toward the cheetah have evolved. The country’s wild cheetah population is poised to regenerate. Join us for this truly inspiring talk by Dr. Laurie Marker.

About the Speaker: Dr. Laurie Marker is an American conservation research scientist recognized as one of the world’s leading experts in human-carnivore conflict. In 1990, Dr. Marker established Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF) and set up its international base in Otjiwarongo, Namibia. Under her leadership, CCF has grown into a world-class institution dedicated to research, education and conservation of the cheetah and its ecosystem. Today, CCF’s Centre is based on an integrated wildlife and livestock reserve that includes a 100,000-acre model farm used to train Namibians in best farming and natural resource management practices.

Lecture Location: The McGowan Building is located at 411 Pacific Street, Monterey, CA, 93940, on the campus of the Middlebury Institute of International Studies. Attendees will enter through the glass doors from Pacific street, and room 102 is located inside to the right. The McGowan Building is indicated as #20 on the campus map.

Parking is available in any Middlebury Institute campus lot after 5pm or on the street (time limits on surrounding streets end at 6pm).

Questions: Contact Rachel Christopherson at the Center for the Blue Economy at cbe@miis.edu or 831-647-6615 x1.