The first two cheetahs have arrived at Nyosi Wildlife Reserve!

Dubbed “the Kalahari siblings”, the brother and sister duo are beautiful and full of character but were separated from their mother at an early stage. They are now regaining their fitness and learning how to catch their own food.

We’re currently monitoring them around the clock, which can be challenging as they are very active and move large distances, but we love following their movements and seeing what they’re getting up to! Luckily, they are fitted with tracking devices which help us record their movements when they’re difficult to spot.

The arrival of these two cheetahs marks the start of our Cheetah Rewilding Project, an ambitious project to rewild as many captive cheetahs as possible while empowering community members. This is part of our larger vision to create a direct link of mutual benefit between endangered wildlife and local communities in southern Africa.

Following their three-month quarantine period and a 15-hour overnight journey by road, the young cheetahs have made great strides since arriving at the reserve, where they spent their first few weeks in a spacious enclosure. During this time, a local wildlife veterinarian fitted their tracking collars so that our conservation team can monitor their movements and activity. They have adapted well and are now thriving in their new home after being released from their spacious enclosure after three weeks. Our conservation team was delighted that they caught their own food within three days – a fully-grown Red Hartebeest!

They are monitored daily, and should they not catch their own food for a period of three days, we will provide food for them as they regain their fitness and hone their hunting skills. Although not captive-born cheetahs, the decision was made to enrol them in our Cheetah Rewilding Program as they were separated from their mother, and we want to ensure their readiness for translocation to a large reserve where there might be other predators. Because they are wild-born, we expect their rewilding phase to be under six months.

We plan to rehome them during the first half of 2023, with each cat going to separate reserves. This is important to prevent inbreeding and maintain the genetic diversity of this threatened species.

Stay tuned via social media and our website blog for further updates on the Kalahari siblings and the arrival of our first captive cheetah.

Additional information:

• Cheetah Rewilding Project
• Cheetah conservation challenges
• Our Legacy Conservation Project at Nyosi Wildlife Reserve
• Our official ecotourism partner, Mantis

How to support our Cheetah Rewilding Project

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