Baby Cheetahs Born in the Wild of Rescued Parents

Rescuing wild animals is a long-haul occupation, as Louise Joubert of SanWild Wildlife Sanctuary knows. But a few weeks ago, a more than four-year-long cheetah project – which had lots of heartache in between – came to fruition, with the birth in the wild of at least six cheetah from parents that had been rescued.

“We have absolutely wonderful news to share with you,” Joubert said this week. “In November 2014 we ran a fund-raising campaign to raise funds to establish a new breeding population of cheetahs in the wild. With your help we secured and released two males and two females in the reserve and despite losing one of the males in a poacher’s snare that was devastating to our team, we can now let you know the first cheetah cubs have been born in the wild in the reserve.

“We have a proud mother with at least 6-7 cubs. Thanks to each and everyone that help us realise our dream of playing a meaningful role in the conservation of these beautiful animals.

“The reason why we cannot yet give you an exact number is that mom remains shy and very elusive and it is not yet possible for us to get too close to her and the cubs.”

According to Joubert, two males arrived in December 2010, donated by SA National Parks. The males (pictured in the main photo) made their first successful kill, of a sub-adult kudu, in 2011, shortly after being released into the sanctuary.

With donations from supporters – which keeps SanWild financially able to do all the work it does – two females were purchased from Mount Camdeboo in the Eastern Cape. The purpose was to breed the animals in the wild.

The females arrived in 2014, were released in 2015, and the cubs were born last month. Go to this page to read more about SanWild and make a donation.