Since they were eliminated from the province during the colonial period, the Free State is the only province in South Africa that has not had wild cheetahs for over 100 years. This has recently been remedied by The Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) in partnership with Laohu Valley Reserve and Amakhala Game Reserve.
The cheetahs were born in July 2010 on Amakhala Game Reserve, a 5700ha reserve where the cubs have from birth hunted and fended for themselves.
“This reintroduction marks an extremely important moment in our battle to save the cheetah from extinction. The reintroduction is the culmination of years of work and the building of great relationships and we are extremely excited to be returning this beautiful, fleet-footed African carnivore to the Free State,” said Kelly Marnewick, Manager of the EWT’s Carnivore Conservation Programme.
Cheetahs are classified as Vulnerable by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and it is estimated that there are less that 1000 cheetahs in South Africa.
The EWT’s Carnivore Conservation Programme launched the Cheetah Metapopulation Project in 2011. The project aims to facilitate a coordinated management approach to cheetah reintroductions on small reserves in order to maximise the conservation value and contribute to the range expansion of cheetahs in South Africa.
The human population which is rapidly increasing is putting pressure on natural resources and protected areas. Snares set for bushmeat are identified as a significant threat throughout Africa because they often end up unintentionally ensnaring cheetahs.
According to Marnewick, the two handsome cheetahs can look forward to sharing the reserve with a female in the future and hopefully there are wild cheetah cubs on the horizon for the Free State Province.
Main image by Safari Partners
Related: Cheetah Outreach is relocating to Paardevlei
