I don't have the best of news for you. Our female has returned to Hammerstein, to the east of the reserve. As of the morning of the 13th, she was over 5 km outside of the reserve boundary.
Whether she felt threatened by the presence of tourists/vehicles, the five boys, or simply preferred the hunting on the farms is impossible to tell. Perhaps she will return again in the future, but either way I'll be continuing to monitor her movements.
Rob
PS from Laurie:
Cheetahs just roam – and females will be using a lot more area than the males will - once she begins to take her cubs around, she will go a bit further regularly. It will be very interesting to see how she moves vs other females!
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Do you know the farmers on whose property she is roaming? I know farmers and cheetahs are not friends, but hopefully she will be able to hunt wild food while on the property.
ReplyDeleteDo you have cordial relationships with the farmers in the CCF area, or have they been resistant to attempts to cultivate their friendship/understanding?
I will be keeping that female cheetah in my thoughts as she wanders where she will.
We certainly make a concerted effort to educate the farmers living in the area, and we also think that she will move around regularly and hopefully return to the reserve. We know she can hunt, and cheetahs prefer wild prey, so our hope is that she will stay away from people and livestock.
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