Dark Knight
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(AP) U.S. soldiers discovered two endangered cheetah cubs being held captive and abused in a restaurant in this dusty, remote Ethiopian village and have launched a campaign for the animals' rescue.
The 3-month-old cubs were being forced to fight each other for the amusement of patrons at a Gode restaurant; one cheetah was blind, possibly from poachers who kicked the animal in the face.
The soldiers, part of the U.S. counterterrorism task force for the Horn of Africa, discovered the cubs last month. They provided medical treatment to the blinded cub, fed both animals and tried to persuade restaurant owner Mohamed Hudle to hand them over to wildlife officials.
The soldiers also contacted U.S.-based cheetah experts as well as Ethiopian authorities.
Befekadu Refera, an official of the national Environmental Protection Agency in the capital, Addis Ababa, confirmed that the U.S. military had contacted his agency about the cubs and had offered to fly the pair to Addis Ababa, 684 miles away, for care. The U.S. military refused to comment.
The owner, however, was refusing to hand over the cubs unless paid $1,000 for each 10 times the average income in this impoverished nation of 77 million people.
"I don't see why I should hand them over," Hudle told The Associated Press on Wednesday. "When I was younger I looked after goats and camels, so I know what animals need."
His sons, 4 and 2, pulled the cubs' tails and dragged them around by ropes tied tightly to their necks. Other children followed, poking and teasing the frightened animals.
Rest of story: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051125/ap_on_re_af/ethiopia_cheetahs
Let's all pray that they successfully rescue these two cheetahs in time, and maybe the other animals this guy has. :furious: God bless the troops for trying, and praise Him for them finding them.
The 3-month-old cubs were being forced to fight each other for the amusement of patrons at a Gode restaurant; one cheetah was blind, possibly from poachers who kicked the animal in the face.
The soldiers, part of the U.S. counterterrorism task force for the Horn of Africa, discovered the cubs last month. They provided medical treatment to the blinded cub, fed both animals and tried to persuade restaurant owner Mohamed Hudle to hand them over to wildlife officials.
The soldiers also contacted U.S.-based cheetah experts as well as Ethiopian authorities.
Befekadu Refera, an official of the national Environmental Protection Agency in the capital, Addis Ababa, confirmed that the U.S. military had contacted his agency about the cubs and had offered to fly the pair to Addis Ababa, 684 miles away, for care. The U.S. military refused to comment.
The owner, however, was refusing to hand over the cubs unless paid $1,000 for each 10 times the average income in this impoverished nation of 77 million people.
"I don't see why I should hand them over," Hudle told The Associated Press on Wednesday. "When I was younger I looked after goats and camels, so I know what animals need."
His sons, 4 and 2, pulled the cubs' tails and dragged them around by ropes tied tightly to their necks. Other children followed, poking and teasing the frightened animals.
Rest of story: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051125/ap_on_re_af/ethiopia_cheetahs
Let's all pray that they successfully rescue these two cheetahs in time, and maybe the other animals this guy has. :furious: God bless the troops for trying, and praise Him for them finding them.
