South Africa is the cheetah’s stronghold
FOURWAYS – Trappers hosted the Endangered Wildlife Trust, which spoke about cheetahs in South Africa. Read here for more.
The Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) spoke at Trappers in Fourways Crossing to raise awareness about cheetahs. They received spotter cameras to support their good work.
Vincent van der Merwe, EWT’s regional cheetah meta-population coordinator in the Eastern Cape said the trust uses a system of fencing, which incorporates intensive managing structures but time has proven that humans and wildlife don’t co-exist very well.
The fencing system helps to protect the animals on the reserves and gives them the opportunity to roam freely.
The trust depends on cameras to spot cheetahs who still roam outside reserves, but the specific equipment they require is very expensive. To protect the cheetahs from being shot or caught in traps, Trappers and one of its partners, Bushnell, gave the trust the equipment they need to keep up the good work.
Van der Merwe spoke about the origin of cheetahs and how they have developed over a period of hundreds of years. Southern Africa is currently the cheetahs’ stronghold. He explained how the trust is currently trying to move cheetahs to reserves where they will flourish and also add to the natural behaviour of the other wildlife in the reserves. The cheetahs seem to adapt easily to all sorts of vegetation, including thicket vegetation, Kalahari reserves, floodplain vegetation and more.
Van der Merwe said it is imperative to protect these animals to ensure that later generations will be able to experience their beauty.
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