Tracking cheetahs in the african bush

Beep!
I could tell from the signal coming from the telemetry box I was holding that he was close. The rest of my team (all GVI volunteers like me) in the back of the cruiser were scanning the pale yellow scrub of the South African bush for any sign of him. One week ago I hadn’t even seen a cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) in a zoo and here I was tracking one through the hot, dry, bush.

Beep, beep!!
The radio collar on one of the two brothers in the coalition was giving me a really strong signal. We had been tracking him for about thirty minutes now and I was pretty sure he was in some bush about fifteen metres away. Cheetahs are beautiful animals but also elusive and difficult to find and it was a wonderful relief when we finally made out his graceful face peering intently back at us. He had seen us long before we saw him.




When you are given a telemetry aerial and receiver box and asked to find a wild animal for the first time it can be a little scary but all worries and doubts soon disappear when you start to track. Knowing that I had been responsible for locating an animal in a large game reserve was one of the most satisfying moments of my life.

Training week is interesting and exciting, challenging and demanding, and you will learn lots about conservation and see many wonderful animals, but for me I will always remember my first week in Venetia for the wonderful experience of tracking a wild cheetah through the South African bush.

By the way, his name is Skankank and he will always be a special animal to me. Maybe one day you will be lucky enough to see him too.

Matthew Dunn, volunteer, UK

Tracking cheetahs in the african bush