OUR WORK
Human activity has reduced wild cheetah populations from approximately 100,000 to 7,000 individuals over the past 13,000 years.
Our metapopulation approach is reversing this decline, expanding from 217 cheetahs on 41 South African reservers in 2011, to a current population of 537 cheetahs on 75 reserves in five countries.
699
Cheetah Relocated
5
Countries
75
Reserves Participating
34
Reintroductions Coordinated
33,108 sq. km
Safe Space Created
History of the Metapopulation
Between 1966 and 1996, 279 cheetahs from Namibian farms were relocated to South African reserves, with most reintroduction attempts failing. However, a breakthrough came with the successful introduction of cheetahs into Phinda Private Game Reserve. Post-Apartheid legislative changes in South Africa, allowing private wildlife ownership and a boom in ecotourism, led to cheetahs being introduced into 75 game reserves. This initiative created a managed cheetah metapopulation, now numbering approximately 537, representing the only growing wild cheetah population globally.