In the world of conservation, life’s always busy, but today really takes the biscuit, marking both World Wildlife Conservation Day and International Cheetah Day.
Conservation is in our DNA and pumps intuitively through every aspect of our business. 1.5% of every guest’s stay with us is committed to regional conservation and community outreach initiatives.
We’re custodians of more than 1,600,000 hectares of land and we work tirelessly to expand wildlife areas. We work on the human-wildlife dynamic through anti-poaching initiatives, conservation education and conflict mitigation on the ground. Since 2016, we and our operational partners have committed funds to over 150 wildlife conservation and community outreach projects.
Naturally enough, cheetah figure in our conservation portfolio thanks to our cheetah release initiative in Etosha Heights Private Reserve. The cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) is classed as Vulnerable by the IUCN and there’s a push underway to have this status altered to Endangered due to declining populations globally. Historically these lithe felines patrolled Africa, Asia and Europe, but nowadays their numbers are believed to be around the 7000 mark, with most individuals found in sub-Saharan Africa.
It’s in Namibia that the largest free-roaming population can be found and it’s here that our cheetah conservation takes place. One component of cheetah conservation is the mitigation of farmer-cheetah conflict, and it’s in this area that Etosha Heights Private Reserve has proved itself to be enormously beneficial in safeguarding cheetah. This is one of the largest private reserves in Namibia. It extends to around 60,000 hectares and shares a northern boundary with Etosha National Park. The reserve is also well known for exemplary wildlife management and fruitful conservation efforts so it was quickly identified as an ideal location for cheetah conservation.
What is one of our top goals in sustainability? – reducing the use of fossil fuel on game drives. Electric vehicles that can handle rough terrain, water crossings, and long distances through wilderness areas are not readily available but we are continually looking to technological advances and hope that electric game drive vehicles will soon find their way into our fleet.
We don’t rest on our recycled laurels, but rather evolve continuously, striving for sustainability through everything we do.
This well-managed conservation landscape has enabled us to support the release of four cheetah who were rescued from Kalahari farmland where they were a threat to livestock, making the farmers a threat to the cheetahs. This release was co-facilitated with the Cheetah Conservation Foundation (CCF) who rescued the cheetah, the Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST), Giraffe Conservation Foundation (GCF), Etosha Heights Private Reserve and Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism.
These animals now form part of our ongoing long-term conservation research programme at Etosha Heights and Etosha National Park who collect the data on interactions between predators and their prey. This collaboration between NUST’s BRC, GCF, Etosha Heights and others demonstrates the efficacy of an interdisciplinary conservation approach that might just prove to be key in securing a bright future for the cheetah.
