This morning we were looking for Cheetahs – and did we find Cheetahs!! Hendrick and Aggy stopped the Landcruiser and set off on foot to track them, as they suspected them to be nearby. The guests told me that they were gone for quite a while… the next minute they both came storming out of the thicket, jumped in the car and told the guests to “hold on” and then there it was:

The female with 5 cubs had joined up with the two brothers (probably her previous offspring also). All 5 cubs are still alive and well. So we had a sighting of 8 Cheetahs!! This is outstanding on so many levels …

First of all, we have never seen so many cheetahs together on our reserve. It is in general very rare to see so many together, as they are solitary animals (unlike lions who hunt in coalitions most of the time). It is unusual for a female to join up with other cheetahs, even for a short while. To be honest, this is a mystery to me. Maybe because she recognised the two males as her own offspring?

What is also amazing is the fact that this cheetah mother has succeeded in rearing 5 cubs, and as far as we know now, all 5 have survived. Given that the usual survival rates of cheetah cubs range from 25-50% at the most, this is testimony to how perfect this reserve is for wildlife conservation, and also what an amazing cheetah mother this is. I am in awe, and I could not be any happier. What a beautiful moment, and what an incredible thing to be happening here.

Bear in mind, there are only about 400-500 cheetahs in the wild still in South Africa, so our guests just saw … 2% of all wild cheetahs in South Africa, in one go. It shows you how immense the positive impact is of private game reserves such as ours on the conservation of these species, many of which are literally on the very edge of survival.

And we certainly are proud of it!