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Cheetah Project
 The cheetah is
considered Africa's most endangered cat. As such, each individual animal represents
irreplaceable genetic material. Fewer than 12,000 cheetahs remain world-wide, with only a
handful in Botswana. Mokolodi is home to two cheetahs from Ghanzi, northern Botswana.
Duma
and Letotse are three-year old brothers who were found by a bushman when a farmer shot
their mother for having preyed on his livestock. From that time, the two cubs were bottle
fed until a suitable home was found for them. The cheetahs now reside at Mokolodi, and
visitors are able to have a close and personal experience with the cheetahs.
Such an
experience is a powerful tool in conservation, as a close encounter with such a rare
species will remain in a person's memory for the rest of their life. It would be
virtually impossible for someone who has met the cheetahs to ever threaten their
existence, either directly or by damaging the environment that they live in. Subsequently
an ally is made in the battle to conserve all our magnificent endangered species.
Over
70% of Botswana's cheetahs live on commercial farmlands, not in reserves, where
competition from other predators such as lions keeps their numbers low. Despite the fact
that they are endangered, farmers often kill cheetahs who threaten their livestock. The
Wild Cheetah Transit Station at Mokolodi offers an alternative to land owners by
temporarily accommodating "problem" cheetahs which are later released into
suitable safe habitats and monitored for research purposes.
For more information about cheetah conservation visit the
website of Cheetah Conservation Botswana which is based here at Mokolodi.
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