Our team is posting this with a very
heavy heart. On Thursday 25th May 2017 our beautiful first ambassador, Byron,
passed away. This was just 5 days shy of his 15th birthday, which was a very
good age for a cheetah.
Byron and the education team have
touched so many hearts from the inception of the education program in 2003. The
education team was headed up by Marilyn Hull, who was also Byron's primary
handler and trainer.
 |
| Marilyn and Byron at the Ann van Dyk Cheetah Centre |
From rural schools in Atherstone, underprivileged schools in Ga-Rankuwa, Soweto, Shoshanguve, Mabopane and Diepsloot, right through to beautiful hotels and elevators - Byron had seen it all. With a strong emphasis on encouraging the school kids and delegates to do their bit in ensuring a healthier environment for all species, Byron and the education team have visited about 90 000 people through the years. Many of the youngsters in rural communities would never have been exposed to wildlife without this opportunity, and the true success of the education program was evident when learners from these schools went on to study nature conservation and pursue a career in this field.
 |
| Kids in Ga-Rankuwa made it clear to education team how much they loved Byron |
Burn victims, junior honorary rangers,
children and adults with disabilities,celebrities, school children and
delegates at specialised corporate talks were all privileged enough to meet
this beautiful ambassador cheetah. They will all agree - when you have seen
this phenomenal animal in person, heard him purr and looked into his large
soulful eyes, you cannot ignore the plight of cheetahs or turn your back on
your responsibility to be a custodian for the environment.
 |
| Junior honorary rangers with a young Byron |
 |
| Eco-Access meet Byron at the center's education facility - Reach for the Wild |
 |
| Mr. South Africa meets Byron at the Ann van Dyk cheetah Centre |
Byron not only touched the lives of
the children and adults that have met him through the years, but also crept
deep into the hearts of all the staff involved with the centre and
particularly, the education team.
 |
| Amos Letsoalo, Marilyn Hull and Byron at a school in Soweto |
 |
| Amos, Marilyn and Byron in Ga-Rankuwa |
 |
| Rita Groenewald, Marilyn Hull and Byron in Ga-Rankuwa |
 |
| Gaby Carse with Byron on a sleep-over |
When travelling far from the centre,
Byron and the team would overnight in accommodation, and this handsome cheetah
would make himself extremely comfortable in any situation.
 |
| Monique Burger with Byron on a sleep-over |
 |
| Gaby, Byron and Bryan Habana |
Through the years, many celebrities
assisted the Ann van Dyk Cheetah Centre in creating awareness about the plight
of the cheetah. Byron and the team featured in many newspaper articles and
television shows. Byron even had his own episode on a show featured on Animal
Planet titled "Byron the Cheetah Teacher" highlighting his work in
rural schools.
 |
| Monique, Marilyn and Byron meet Clare Vale - a famous lady in the Motorsport industry who assists us with fundraising |
 |
| Ann van Dyk, Marilyn, Gaby and Byron meet well know environmental journalist Errol Felix |
 |
| Gaby, Marilyn and Byron on the late night show |
The entire team at the Ann van Dyk
Cheetah Centre already miss him immensely, but honor him by continuing the work
that he and Marilyn started all those years ago. Yeats is our current school
going ambassador who joins the team in making appearances at schools all around
Gauteng and North-West.
 |
| Yeats and the team at a school in Attridgeville |
The centre recently proudly made the
decision to cease any wild animal interaction. This was a big decision for
Management as we have offered this for a substantial period of time, but our
conservation goals and efforts are the most important tasks we have. We have
previously supported limited interaction under strict protocols as we believed
that this interaction created an interest and awareness in cheetahs and
conservation in general, however our current thinking that this interaction is
not in the best interest of our cheetahs. The press has recently been full of
harmful reports about sad, tragic and recently a fatal injury associated with
wild animal interaction. We, as a Centre, always have and always will support
what is in the best interest of the cheetahs. We still offer a cheetah
appearance where our ambassador cheetah will visit your school, and learners
will be able to view a cheetah, see many adaptations that allow them to run
phenomenal speeds, hear him purr and see those large gorgeous eyes.
Till our next blog!
Education team
education@dewildt.co.za
+12 504 9906
