SANParks.org Forums

thanks Pikasso

right, Margie and Gus, you always reply so friendly to my inquiries about one or several ID, I thank you from the bottom of my heart
I love so much Cheetahs... that I have to put a name of all of them... and follow their life will be... if... if you write another book Margie and Gus Mills

thank you for the work you did all over the park for these magnificent cats

all this in memory of Anton... Skinny... my, our first baby Cheetah... many moons ago

Hi BB,

If you are going to look for a landy that Gus Mills uses then you are going to look for a long time. He does his research in a cruizer with cheetah pics on.

we all shall miss them

They all look the same to me if they are not Hiluxes KG.

BB,

Eish....im not getting into this one.

To Gus and Margie Mills,

A heartfelt "thank you" for your patience with "tourists" and your willingness to share -- sightings, knowledge and friendliness

I'm sure we'll all miss you -- but not as much as, I fear, you will miss the park & your cheetahs

May your city time pass quickly and uneventfully so that you can soon return to the bush

Thanks to the Mills for all their dedication to KTP and its predators/scavengers.....and for answering endless questions on who is who when it comes to the cheetahs and for forwarding us some info on any of the cheetah pictures we submitted.

We came across the Mills a few times in our travels....even once while they were weighing the remnants of a cheetah kill near Urikaruus.

You will be missed in the park but I wish you well and a quick return to the place I'm sure you love.

What a remarkable couple, Gus and Margie. On the 3 or 4 occasions I crossed their paths they were exceptionaly friendly. You can't help but notice how humble they are and also their love for nature.

My first meeting with Gus was in 08. We had just left TR and 2 kms out we came across a jackal that had a wire around its neck, it had walked into a crude snare. We got hold of a ranger; he came out from TR. He asked for our help so off we went on foot after the hapless animal. On the plateau next to the airfield we ran into Dr Gus , who had also seen the jackal. He told us to hop into his Cruiser and off we went. At his house he picked up a tracker, Buks who walked ahead of the vehicle. (It was here I saw how a vehicle should be driven in sand).

Long story short, we did not find the poor jackal but in the 30 mins or so minutes we were in Gus's company we got an insight into the passion he has for nature. A special memory I have and will never forget.

I ran into them in MM one day and Margie showed me her book of ID'd cheetahs. It was there that she ID'd my photo I had of Anton. In 2010/11 I saw Anton twice again and they ID'd him again for me.
Always willing to answer my emails dispite them being so busy.

I've read their book on hyenas, one of my favourites (and autographed by them too no less). BTW there's an article Gus wrote on cheetahs in the latest Wild.

As said before, thank you for this Topic, Pikasso!

My friend Mario and I met the Mills a couple of times last year in January (when we also met Pikasso, by the way :-) ).

Every time we met they were so friendly and helpful, full of passion for the park and of course the cheetahs, i have no words for it.

I´m thankful to have met the Margie and Gus, thugh it was only on very brief occasions.

Thanks for everything you have done for the park, its visitors and for wildlife conservation in general.

BTW, a great article on Cheetahs in the actual wild issue!!!

All the best from Germany for the future,

Denis and Mario!

Morning all,

Here is just a little letter from Gus and Margie Mills to you all. There will be a little farewell party for the Mills tonight where the staff of SANParks will say there Good Buy's

Moving On

It’s hard to believe that we have been back in the Kalahari for nearly six years. We have had a marvellous time with many adventures and memorable experiences.
For the first two years or so we employed the services of Bushmen Trackers lead by Buks Kruiper. They were invaluable in helping us to find cheetahs and we certainly learnt a lot with them. After we had managed to radio collar a number of cheetahs and found that it was quite feasible to follow them and observe their behaviour at first hand, we weaned ourselves from the trackers. We have collared and followed the movements of 20 cheetahs, spending nights on end in our roof tent out in the dunes. We have recorded well over 500 kills, identified about 120 individual cheetahs, got DNA from almost as many, and recorded the fates of about 20 litters from birth to independence.

We have now reached the stage where we have to concentrate on trying to interpret and make sense of all these observations. Besides, as much as Gus would like to, we know that we can’t live forever in this beautiful paradise and so we must move on. As from 1 May we will be stationed in Oxford, UK where Gus will be attached to the University’s Wildlife Conservation Research Unit and Margie will be learning about life in a rather different environment, where the nearest shop is more like 2.5 km not 250 km away. We plan to spend about 9 months in the UK and then will return to Nelspruit where we will settle.
One of the highlights of our time in the KTP has been meeting so many visitors along the roads while observing cheetahs. We are most grateful to the significant role many visitors have played in our study by passing on information, and especially for sending us photos that have helped us to monitor the activities of the cheetahs. Please don’t stop sending photos as SANParks are planning on continuing to monitor the four large carnivores and new brochures will be available shortly.

Best wishes
Gus and Margie Mills

Thank you Gus and Margie for all the dedication and hard work.

I can't wait for a new book on all the cheetah research.

thanks Guru... for posting this letter

I wish to both of you a superb "new" job and then returning near the "nature" in Nelspruit
Merci, merci for the Cheetahs and us

Thankyou KG for posting this letter from the Mills'. They are a very special couple. I wish them every success in their new venture. Hopefully we will not have to wait too long for their cheetah book.

As promised, the evening went well and I believe the setting was great, knowing that we would say goodbye to a good friend of the Kalahari.

Here are some pictures.

A scrapbook was done by some of the forumites (CT) as a farewell present form all of us to remember the Mill’s stay in the Kalahari. The book was received with plenty of mixed feelings that of happyness and sadness.

A few words of appreciation for what Gus and Margie did for SANParks and the Kgalagadi.



Few words from Gus and then the opening.




The facial expressions said it all how much they appreciate the book.


Then the last wave goodbye to their friends they have made in the park.



All at SANParks and Kgalagadi will miss you guys dearly; we wish you all of the best forward.
KG

Thanks to all involved with this book and to Gill (Scouter) for the time in putting page for page together.

Makes me sad ...