"Queen of the Mara"

by Dave Drummond
(attended the Prince of Wales School - Clive/Grigg, 1946-1950)
Image of Queen of the Mara

This is an incredible true story of a wild free-range cheetah that became the star of BBC TV's Big Cat Diary.

In 1985 in the world famous Maasai Mara in Kenya, Nature decreed that the mother of five little cheetah cubs would not survive to bring up her family. Too young to care for themselves the cubs would certainly die of starvation without human intervention.

Rather than rear the orphan cubs in domesticated captivity, David Drummond was given the enviable task of single-handedly foster-fathering them in the wild. In the absence of their mother he would be responsible for teaching them the skills they would need to survive. As the cubs progressed towards adulthood they took their foster-father on an incredible wild adventure.

Petal, the only female, accepted the leading role in the group, permitting her human escort to walk, hunt and sleep alongside her. Petal came to look upon her foster-father as one of her own, later introducing David to other wild females of her kind.

Through subtle humour, personal reminiscence and high-quality colour photography, this story provides us with a true-life adventure with a man who is considered one of the leading free-range cheetah experts in Africa.

"Cheetahs are perhaps, not only the most beautiful, but also the most mysterious of the big cats. David Drummond possesses that rare ability of earning the trust of a wild creature, and whose long and intimate relationship with the cheetahs of the Masai Mara is now graphically described in this book"
Dr Dame Daphne Sheldrick DBE MBS

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: David Drummond was brought up on a cattle ranch in Kenya where an old African hunter-gatherer taught him all the required skills to survive in the wild, without which this incredible story could not have taken place. As a member of the Colonial Government's pre-independence Special Forces in Kenya, David played a leading role in pioneering operations against the notorious MauMau uprising in the early 1950's. He also saw service during the insurgency in Aden and South Yemen.

Drummond was decorated on several occasions and highly commended by the Queen's order for distinguished service in covert operations against guerrilla insurgency. This account was well documented in an action-packed thriller - MauMau Manhunt. In later years he became an honorary game warden holding a countrywide security portfolio in tourism and anti-poaching in Kenya.

An interesting selection of comments from those who have read this manuscript and been on safari in the Maasai Mara in Kenya and others who have never experienced the thrill of visiting a wild animal game reserve in Africa

Anyone who loves Africa and its wildlife will enjoy reading this book
Pioneering the boundaries of the unknown for conservation
An incredible story that will fascinate readers both young and old
The Author's empathy with wildlife and his love for Petal the 'Queen Cheetah' has woven a golden thread through my heart
A gifted conservationist at work. Fascinating
A therapeutic and inspiring adventure in equal measure
One man's successful breakthrough in harnessing the symbiosis between man and the wild free-range cheetah

ISBN 1-905237-25-1 Price: £20 plus packing and post
Postal charges per book: UK - £4.00 EU - £8.50 Rest of the world: £16 (air parcel only)

To download an Order Form, Click Here (pdf format)

Orders direct to:
Hilary Drummond, La Route De La Pulente, St. Brelade, Jersey JE3 8HQ, Channel Islands, UK
Tel/Fax (+44) 1534 742 495 E-mail: hdrummond@localdial.com

A percentage of the sale of all the limited editions sold will go towards the Oxford Radcliffe Leukaemia (CMML) Research Fund.

In Kenya, price is Kshs3,600/- , available from Langata Link Ltd, Langata South Road, P.O. Box 15097, 00509 Langata (Tel. 891314 / Fax 891307 - Heather Lawrence)