Brad and Angelina Donate $2m to Conservation Centre

Hollywood philanthropists Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have pledged $2 million to support the work of an animal sanctuary in Namibia.

The couple spent Christmas at the N/a’an ku se Sanctuary’s wildlife lodge in their daughter Shiloh’s birth country. The lodge is run by Rudie and Malice van Vuuren.

“We have known Rudie and Marlice for many years and continue to be impressed by their hard work and dedication to the people and conservation of the land and wildlife of Namibia,” said Jolie.

She added, “The new section of the project will be under N/a’an ku se and in Shiloh’s name. We want her to be very involved and grow up with an understanding of her country of birth.”

The program strives to protect the wild cheetah population by working with local farmers and land owners in an effort to reduce conflicts.

As well as using GPS tracking collars to show that the cheetahs have not been harming livestock, the N/a’an ku se sanctuary has participated in an international collaboration with Wildtrack, Africat and Chester Zoo, pioneering a new technique which identifies cheetahs from just their paw prints. This allows scientists to understand the movements of cheetahs and enables problem animals to be identified and relocated, protecting them for future generations.