Chasing Cheetahs: The Race to Save Africa’s Fastest Cats by Sy Montgomery (review)

The scientists are back in the field again, in another outing by the illustrious Montgomery and Bishop partnership. This time they’re in Namibia at the African headquarters of the Cheetah Conservation Fund, where staff both study and advocate for cheetahs; their work includes reintegrating cheetahs into the wild, housing cheetahs unable to fend for themselves, researching wild cheetah habits, and partnering with farmers on ways to defend their flocks from cheetahs without harming them. The title focuses largely on the current mission of the CCF, immersing readers, like Montgomery and Bishop, among the cheetahs and adding a touch of plot trajectory in the story of Hi-Fi, a wild cheetah who’s fascinated with the animals at the facility. Activist readers will be intrigued to hear about the American high-schoolers doing volunteer work on a class trip to Namibia, but there are plenty of other kinds of jobs woven into the process as well that will, in keeping with the series’ practice, offer some possibilities for scientific work that young people may not have realized. Bishop’s photographs can’t capture the cheetahs’ blinding speed, but the cats’ movie-star glamour is on prominent display, especially in a few breathtaking extreme closeups; pictures of other local wildlife—a nervy hornbill, a crowd of inquisitive mongoose—add atmosphere and convey the richness of the local ecosystem. Interspersed special features (“The Crucial Role of Predators”) and fact sheets (“Cheetahs by the Numbers”) provide crisply focused informative overviews, while those looking to see a cheetah run will be amused by the flipbook art sequence in the book’s corner. End matter includes a short bibliography and info about the CCF’s website, including volunteer opportunities, as well as a (somewhat eccentric) index.