Cheetah Conservation Botswana

Photo of a male cheetah

PCT Grants: March 2007 December 2008

Project Updates: August 2007 July 2008 November 2008

Introduction

Along with Namibia, Botswana has one of the last free-ranging populations of cheetah in the world making it an essential stronghold for the future of the species.

Cheetah Conservation Botswana has been set up as a long term monitoring project, incorporating practical conservation, scientific research and community participation. It is the first project to research cheetah in Botswana and is gathering data on home ranges, behaviour, their role in livestock conflicts, genetics and diseases at their research camp in the southern Kalahari. This information is vital to understand the status of Botswana’s cheetah and the factors affecting their survival.

The project team have set up a research camp in Jwaneng, Southern Kalahari, a 20,000 hectare wildlife reserve. They are studying the resident population of cheetah in the area using telemetry, spoor surveying and direct observation. As well as working with the local community in the surrounding area, they are assisting them with farm management practices that will enable them to coexist with predators with the minimum of conflict.

As in Namibia, protected areas such as National Parks cannot be relied upon to conserve the species as cheetahs are often out-competed by high populations of stronger predators and pushed onto marginal land where they come into conflict with livestock farmers.

One of the project’s focuses is reducing cheetah / livestock conflict and improving the attitudes of the farming community and their methods of predator control. Survival of the cheetah depends on the attitudes of these farming communities.

Education is an essential and important aspect of the project. Visits are made to all types of farming situations and support given to those experiencing problems. Schools are also visited to give presentations on the importance of predators in healthy ecosystems. Rural communities and predators can coexist if adequate methods are used to decrease conflict, such as better monitoring, effective corralling, using well trained guard animals and a good understanding of predator behaviours.

As a last resort the project team will relocate ‘problem’ cheetah off farmland where they are threatened, into safer areas, where they can be monitored.

However, coexistence is the ultimate aim, working together with the rural farming communities to ensure Botswana remains one of the best hopes for the survival of this unique, endangered cat.

A viable population of cheetah requires a suitable prey base and habitat. Therefore, as a flagship species, protection of the cheetah and awareness raising goes hand in hand with protecting the ecosystem on which they depend.

Photo of a Cheetah Cub in Botswana

PCT Grants

March 2007

The Trustees of the Predator Conservation Trust are delighted to help support the Cheetah Conservation Botswana project by making a grant of £1000 towards the annual costs of vehicle parts, maintenance, tyres and fuel. A project like Cheetah Conservation Botswana (CCB) can not operate successfully without working vehicles to enable them to visit schools for educational visits, track cheetah, relocate problem animals, or liaise with the farming community.

December 2008

In late November, the Trustees of The Predator Conservation Trust, approved a grant to Cheetah Conservation Botswana for £1000. The grant is for the purchase of fuel over the coming months. Fuel for vehicles is essential for an organisation like Cheetah Conservation Botswana to carry out its work, and the recent price rises for fuel make this grant even more vital.

Photo of a cheetah sitting on a grassy mound

Project Update: August 2007

CCB EDUCATION BOOK PUBLISHED

Cheetah Conservation Botswana (CCB) are delighted to announce the publication of their book, CHEETAH: A Predator Resource for the Students of Botswana, the first such publication to be developed by CCB.

Designed for use by students of Secondary Level, its five chapters introduce cheetah history, biology and behaviour and discuss the status of the species, while also introducing measures available to farmers to reduce conflict with predators. Placing the cheetah in context, the publication also introduces the other carnivores common to Botswana. Its 74 pages are richly illustrated in colour and feature an activity section at the end of each chapter. While strengthening pupils' knowledge about the cheetah and other predators, the activities also exercise student abilities in subjects such as English, mathematics and geography.

CCB plans to distribute copies nationwide, in stages - as funding for reprinting hopefully become available to us over the forthcoming years. Initially, twenty-five schools will each receive forty copies of the book, accompanied by the new CCB CD-ROM.

The education book can be downloaded here in PDF format - CHEETAH: A Predator Resource for the Students of Botswana

Project Update: July 2008

Leopard Rehabilitation

Botshelo the young leopard who was confiscated by the Department of Wildlife & National Parks (DWNP) in October 2006 and placed in the CCB rehabilitation programme has been released into the wild. Botshelo has grown into a strong adult leopard exhibiting effective hunting skills and is making us all very proud. She was anaesthetised and collared in Jwaneng in a joint effort by the CCB team and the DWNP, with the assistance of Dr Mark Bing in April, and transported to her release point in the southern part of the country. The location of release was carefully considered taking into account, type of habitat, closeness of game management areas and minimal farm land to reduce possibilities of conflict and mortality. On the 7th April 2008, Botshelo, was fitted with a GPS collar and released with the assistance and support of the Department of Wildlife & National Parks. The cat was transported from Jwaneng into the southern Kalahari Wildlife Management Area of Botswana, after being fitted with the GPS collar.

The information that CCB has so far been able to obtain from the collar has indicated that the leopard, released well away from human settlements and farming areas, has been hunting successfully for over two months and is staying within a 23 x 15km area. Walking approximately 1-4km per day, the cat appears to be staying in a relatively small area for 2-3 days at a time ý which may indicate her success in making large kills and returning to a carcass for a few days afterwards before moving on.

If this leopard can survive long term, during which she may encounter other leopards, lions, hyenas and man, then she will also have every chance of breeding. So far, this rehabilitation process has shown that it is possible to successfully raise a young leopard for re-release, to hunt successfully, survive and not live to take livestock or seek out human settlements.

Orapa Teacher Training Workshop 15-18 May

Another in our programme of Teacher Training Workshops took place in Orapa, between the 15th and 18th of May and with the invaluable support once more of Debswana. The event, staged by CCB Education Coordinator Wabotlhe Letubo and assisted by our Community Conservation Officer, Morulaganyi Kokole, was attended by fifty teachers from local schools and the Education Centre of the Debswana Mine served as the venue. Both the General Manager and the Conservation Manager of the mine were especially enthusiastic about the event and are keen to continue the new collaboration with CCB.

Coinciding with the workshop was the construction of a predator playground at the Orapa site. The cheetah park has now been handed over to the mine for completion and when finished, a formal opening, as well as follow-up visits to local schools in the area will take place ý currently scheduled for August.

Ghanzi Show.

CCB attended the annual Ghanzi Agricultural Show at the end of June. The event attracted farmers from the local community as well as those from across the country. The CCB stand attracted particular attention of course, and a great deal of interest in and support for our programmes.

Misidentification of cheetahs and leopards and confusion surrounding the two has been a problem in some rural communities. In conjunction with our "Spot the Difference" campaign particular emphasis was placed upon providing education support and materials to visitors at the show, to help them correctly identify predators in their own local areas. CCB was also approached by many farmers and farm workers at the show, who wanted to learn more about predator friendly farming and to share their own experiences with CCB. We look forward to building on these contacts in the near future.

PCT to handle UK donations to Cheetah Conservation Botswana - November 2008

The Predator Conservation Trust are now the official UK partners of Cheetah Conservation Botswana for the purposes of handling donations. Previously Cheetah Conservation Botswana had alternative arrangements for receiving donations in the UK but these were less than ideal due to the costs. Predator Conservation Trust have agreed to handle all UK donations for Cheetah Conservation Botswana, free of charge which will help increase the amount of money reaching Cheetah Conservation Botswana. The trustees of the Predator Conservation Trust are pleased to be able to help support Cheetah Conservation Botswana in this way.

Information on how to donate - either for Cheetah Conservation Botswana in particular, or our supported projects in general, can be found on our Donate page.