First cheetah cubs in 14 years

The 16,000-hectare reserve, which is part of the Waterberg Biosphere Reserve, aims to protect the biodiversity in the area and has worked closely with the Ashia Cheetah Conservation and Endangered Wildlife Trust to re-establish cheetahs in the area.

Despite their best efforts, they had little success with breeding cheetahs. This all changed when four cubs were born on Tuesday, 28 May.

According to Jacques Fourie, reserve manager, they have tried to bring in cheetahs several times.

“We have the big five on the reserve and we’ve previously lost cheetahs due to the lions. We currently have two females and the four cubs, but are busy with negotiations to bring in another male,” he said.

“We are specifically looking for cheetahs that come from reserves with the big five so that the cheetahs are wiser around other predators such as lions.”
Tourism is kept to a small part of the reserve.

“The female chose a secluded place far away from other predators to have her cubs. We monitor them once a week to see if they are doing well,” he said.

According to the Cheetah Conservation Fund, there are only an estimated 6 517 cheetahs globally. They are listed as a vulnerable species. Their habitat spans north, eastern and southern Africa, with a few cheetahs in Iran. They have become extinct in many countries.

“The Cheetah Range Expansion Project helps manage Africa’s cheetah metapopulation through translocations that promote source-sink dynamics and gene flow. Reintroductions re-establish this charismatic species to its historical range,” the reserve stated in a social media post.

Cheetahs’ gestation period is around 93 days and the mother and cubs will separate when they are approximately 18 months old, according to the Cheetah Conservation Fund. In areas with many large predators, cheetah cub mortality may be as high as 90%.

“We spotted a wild cheetah a few years ago on our trail cameras, so wild ones are roaming through the area,” Fourie said.

“We do patrol our fences daily to ensure that none of our predators escape and farmers in the area will let us know if they spot any of our animals that escaped,” he said.