Cheetahs welcomed to game reserve
HISTORY was made when two cheetahs were released to roam freely in Kwazulu-natal’s Babanango Valley for the first time in more than 200 years.
July 27, 2022, marked a historic day for the reserve and all its stakeholders with the release of two cheetah brothers near Zulu Rock Lodge, northern KZN.
The release meant that for the first time in more than 200 years, these majestic cats once again roam freely in the hills and valleys of Babanango.
Babanango Game Reserve sales and marketing manager Seyms Brugger said the release formed part of a new project, a conservancy based in the heart of Zululand between Ulundi and Vryheid.
The reserve is a community-driven project that has been in the making for a long time, and the idea was, among other things, to create local employment opportunities and rewilding projects.
Brugger said that over the last couple of years they brought in all kinds of things and now, as they headed toward the completion of their project, they were starting to bring in animals like cheetahs, lions and elephants.
“Cheetahs were the first step to bringing predators back to Babanango,” Brugger said.
In May, the reserve announced that the brothers were released into their boma, where they were expected to stay for six to eight weeks while they habituated themselves to their new surroundings.
They had arrived from Roam Private Game Reserve in the Eastern Cape.
Before their release, brand new collars were put on the cheetahs, allowing the Babanango Game Reserve to monitor their movements and behaviour.
Brugger said that on July 27, at 11 o’clock, was the first time that free-roaming cheetahs were seen on the hills of the Babanango Valley for over 200 years.
“After waking up, they immediately walked off into the hills, and we simply can'’ wait to follow their journey as the new ‘apex’ predators of Babanango Game Reserve (that is, until the lions arrive),” Brugger said.
“It’s very, very exciting, and they are doing very, very well. We’ve been monitoring them every day,” Brugger said.
He said that exploring their new territory, “they made a massive first kill, taking down an adult hartebeest.”
“It was a very big moment for us. So it’s the first sort of big predator that we have now on Babanango Game Reserve.”
Amid concerns that the cheetahs could be hunted, Brugger said: “We have highly skilled rangers protecting our cheetah brothers and other wildlife in the reserve. Our fences are monitored 24/7, and there is no risk of that situation happening.”
Brugger indicated that the brothers will form an incredible bond and will live and hunt together.
“Since then, we have seen increased jackal, brown hyena and vulture activity,” he said.
Brugger said that over the next couple of months there would be a lot of animal introductions at the reserve.
“We’ve got two female cheetahs arriving, hopefully at the end of September, and sort of between September and October we will release our elephant and our lions, which would then essentially complete the big five project in terms of all the big five animals being on Babanango,” Brugger said.
Since the start of the year at least 1 144 animals have been released into the reserve, including buffalo, giraffe, eland, zebra, impala, wildebeest, ostriches, hartebeest and the endangered oribi.
They were fortunate enough to have an international investor who was more passionate about upskilling and development than his own pocket, which was rare these days, Brugger said.
“It’s almost a billion rand investment into Kwazulu-natal, which is huge in terms of revenue and job creation,” he said.