Four male sub-adult cheetahs, relocated from Pretoria’s Rietvlei reserve to other reserves, are settling well after their trip to Hoedspruit and Gqeberha in the Eastern Cape.

Two of them will soon roam the 3 600 ha Lowveld plains of Tshukudu bush camp near Hoedspruit in Limpopo, meanwhile, two other males will be stalking prey soon in the 2 500 ha Nyosi wildlife reserve in the Eastern Cape.

The resettling of the cheetahs is after their two years stay in the reserve with their mother, Njozi, and sister.

Steven Sussens, the owner of Tshukudo, said the two sub-adult male cheetahs are settling in after their release.

“It’s not always easy for the cats to leave their mother and familiar area.”

STRATEGY TO SAVE CHEETAHS

Sussens said that it was a privilege for Tshukudu to be part of a conservation strategy to save cheetahs.

For this reason, Tshukudu is taking part in Vincent van der Merwe’s Metapopulation Initiative, which has already relocated more than 13 cheetahs by June this year.

These relocations prevent inbreeding and overpopulation, as well as reintroduce wild cheetahs where they had been extinct.

According to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s Red List, African cheetahs are classified as vulnerable.

STUDY BY THE ACADAMY OF SCIENCES

A National Academy of Sciences study found that there are 6 517 to 7 000 African cheetahs left in the wild.

This is one of the reasons why Tshukudu is all the more proud to be part of the project, said Sussens.

“The genetic pool of these cats must be broadened.”

“This is one of the reasons these two Pretoria cats are so welcome here in the Lowveld.”

They will join the reserve’s resident cheetah female.

Sussens said: “Who knows, maybe we’ll have new cubs soon.”

The two sub-adult males relocated to the Eastern Cape will be kept in their boma for two weeks, said Cameron Doyle, general manager of Nyosi.

“They are doing so well already and will soon be in their element going about hunting for themselves.”

Doyle said the trip to the Eastern Cape went well, and “they will soon be aware of our female cheetah in the reserve”.

RELOCATION SAD FOR TSHWANE

Tshwane head of nature conservation management, Natalie Vos said the relocation of the cheetahs is sad as the cats were based at Reitvlei for almost two years.

“Some of our staff really built very strong bonds with them. We are very relieved that the relocation and the releases went well.”

Vos, who has a sterling record of 27 years in conservation management, said that she was proud that Rietvlei has been at the forefront of helping to rescue the species.

Rietvlei has been part of teams relocating and rewilding 13 cheetahs throughout Southern Africa since 2013.

“The team of the initiative is so well trained and works on keeping the register of the relocated cheetahs. We gladly work and cooperate with them.”

MOTHER OF RELOCATED CHEETAHS STAYS BEHIND

The mother of the four males is staying behind.

The sister to the four males will soon be moved to the Makutsi reserve near Hoedspruit.

Tshwane MMC Ziyanda Zwane said the capture of the male animals was an effort that would supplement the Rietvlei Blesbok population to ensure that a male cheetah can be brought in to join Njozi at Rietvlei.

This will ensure that Rietvlei can continue with wild cheetah conservation efforts in Southern Africa.

One cheetah can eat more than 160 Blesbok antelopes a year.

Watch the release of two sub-adult males at Tshukudu near Hoedspruit in Limpopo here:
https://www.facebook.com/100063630775673/videos/765325208660024

*Please note this article has been amended

KNP incorporates tech in fight against poaching

Do you have more information about the story?

Please send us an email to editorial@rekord.co.za or phone us on 083 625 4114.

For free breaking and community news, visit Rekord’s websites: Rekord East

For more news and interesting articles, like Rekord on Facebook, follow us on Twitter or Instagram