Collared cheetahs for Venetia at last
Well, after over a year of trying all the tricks we know, we at last have managed to collar some cheetahs (Acynonix jubatus) on Venetia Limpopo Nature Reserve! Much to the relief of all concerned- reserve management, researchers from the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) and the GVI team, a pair of males (coalition) were located and one of them collared, and just a few weeks ago we also managed to get a collar on a lone female. Her story is quite remarkable, as she simply walked into a boma in the middle of the reserve while reserve staff were trying to shoo Rory, one of the male wild dogs (Lycaon pictus), out of the same boma! The remains of an impala lying in the boma, Rory's last captive meal, was presumably what attracted the cheetah female in. So John Power, the EWT wild dog researcher simply closed the boma gate on her to keep her there until such time as a wildlife vet could be brought in to dart and collar her. She has now been christened Joan (we couldn't call an elegant female cheetah John could we...?!).
Both she and the two males are still pretty skittish after their collaring but all three are roaming the reserve happily and we are getting regular brief sightings of the males. We are confident that all of them will relax as time goes by.
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