On December 4th, the world pauses for International Cheetah Day ~ an opportunity to appreciate the fastest land animal on earth and one of Africa’s most endangered big cats. Here in Madikwe, it’s also a chance to celebrate a living conservation story.
Globally, cheetahs are classified as Vulnerable with an estimated 7,000 individuals remaining in the wild, most of them in sub-Saharan Africa. Habitat loss, farmer-cheetah conflict, and the pressures of living alongside larger predators have all contributed to their decline. To safeguard their future, South Africa’s cheetahs on many fenced reserves are now managed as a metapopulation, with a carefully coordinated network of reintroductions and translocations designed to maintain healthy, genetically diverse populations.
Madikwe is part of this wider effort. Once farmland, the reserve was rewilded in the early 1990s under Operation Phoenix, which saw the reintroduction of more than 8,000 animals of 28 species, including elephants, rhinos, wild dogs and cheetahs, to restore a naturally functioning ecosystem. Today, a small but significant population of cheetahs roams the reserve, including male coalitions like the Moselesele brothers, born to the late Ashia female (pictured here with her last litter of cubs). Notable solitary males include Felix, relocated by the Ashia Cheetah Conservation (ACC) team to Madikwe in December of 2022, and Splinter, brother to Ashia, as well as the son of ACC's first wilded male, Ivory.
Behind the scenes, a web of partnerships helps keep this fragile story moving in the right direction. Organisations such as Madikwe Futures and the Connected Conservation Foundation support the reserve with cutting-edge technology, from real-time surveillance and thermal cameras to advanced sensor networks, all designed to protect the reserve’s at-risk species. This blend of thoughtful innovation and passionate people allows Madikwe’s wildlife to roam more safely across its 75,000 hectares of wilderness.
To watch a cheetah is to witness grace in motion. Built for speed, cheetahs can reach bursts of more than 112 km/h in just over three seconds, using their long tails for balance and their distinctive black “tear” marks to reduce the sun's glare. Unlike lions, they cannot roar, communicating instead using soft chirps, purrs and other vocalizations that sound surprisingly gentle for such powerful hunters. Being diurnal, they prefer to hunt by day, relying on their keen eyesight and stealth rather than the cover of darkness. Their table manners are just as fascinating. Cheetahs typically start feeding at the back of a carcass, choosing the softest, most nutritious parts first ~ a small detail perhaps, but one that says a lot about how finely tuned they are to survival.
Back in 2010, International Cheetah Day was created by Dr Laurie Marker of the Cheetah Conservation Fund, in honour of a cheetah named Khayam: the subject of the first research project into captive-born cheetah rewilding. Each year, it reminds us that their future depends on the choices we make today: from supporting conservation work directly, to choosing responsible safari destinations that invest back into the land and its wildlife.
For us at The Royal, cheetah sightings are both a privilege and a promise: a privilege to share in their world, and a promise to help protect it. This coming December as we mark International Cheetah Day, we champion not only their speed and beauty, but the quiet, collective work that keeps their "spots" on the plains and their story alive for years to come.
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