Laurie Marker was a trained veterinary assistant at the Wildlife Safari park near Winston, Oregon, when she caught her first glimpse of a cheetah at full speed. Marker was captivated by the grace of these predators. But was surprised to learn that they have a timid nature. Though they growl when angry, the cheetahs also mew and purr like a pet tabby, and even chirp like birds to call each other. Marker's growing attraction was sealed when she adopted a six-week-old. 'Four of the litter were hissing and spitting,' she remembers. 'The fifth was calm and gentle.' She named the gentle cub Khayam and raised it in her home with Sheso, her dog 'Sheso licked Khayam's fur clean and played throat-bite with her' Marker says. By then Marker was curator of the safari park's cheetah programme, overseeing breeding. She began wondering if captive- bred animals could be released into the wild, and she took Khayam to northern Namibia to try. In the cool mornings and late afternoons, favoured cheetah hunting times. Marker and Khayam would sit for hours at water holes watching different prey species come and go.