Maputo Special Reserve welcomes cheetahs after 60-year absence
Cheetahs are set to return to the plains of Maputo Special Reserve in
Southern Mozambique for the first time in 60 years. Four of the
endangered big cats, sourced from game reserves in South Africa, have
been transported to holding bomas within the reserve.
The four cheetahs will undergo an acclimatisation period, before being released in the 104 200 hectare reserve.
The reserve is managed through a partnership agreement between
Mozambique’s National Administration for Conservation Areas (ANAC) and
Peace Parks Foundation since 2018. With support from the Ashia Cheetah
Conservation, the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) and the Mozambique
Wildlife Alliance, who all collaborated to achieve this milestone
translocation.
ANAC’s Director-General, Mateus Mutemba, had the following to say about the translocation;
‘We have been committed to expanding and safeguarding the precious ecological assets of Maputo Special Reserve, a region that protects the best of Mozambique’s natural heritage. Through our partnership with Peace Parks, the reintroduction of the cheetah is yet another historic conservation milestone in Mozambique and in the ongoing development of the reserve into a self-sustaining operation that generates revenue for the communities living in the area.’
Two male cheetahs were sourced from the & Beyond Phinda Private Game Reserve in KwaZulu-Natal, while an adult Female and her sub-adult female were flown in from the Waterval Private Game Reserve near Kimberly.
The cheetahs were donated by Ashia, who also covered the costs of translocation, vaccination and the fitting of tracking collars to monitor the cats in their new environment.
Their reintroduction is part of an ambitious project to establish a healthy metapopulation that contributes to the conservation of the cheetah. The cheetah has been eliminated from 90% of its range in Africa, with less than 6 600 individuals remaining.
‘Reintroduction of cheetahs into protected areas is one of the key strategies to reduce the risk of extinction, fuelled by habitat loss and events such as persecution, prey depletion and disease,’ says Ashia Cheetah Conservation director Mara Smit, ‘We, therefore, welcomed the opportunity to partner with ANAC and Peace Parks, as well as the Cheetah Range Expansion Project of the EWT, to introduce cheetah into the suitable habitat of Maputo Special Reserve.’
