Cheetah Conservation Botswana

CHEETAH CONSERVATION BOTSWANA aims to preserve the nation's cheetah population through scientific research, community outreach and education, working with rural communities to promote coexistence with Botswana's rich diversity of predator species.   The project was formed in 2003 to address the threat to the nation's cheetah population. The major challenge for the project, funded by grant aid and donor support, is one of improving community perceptions towards predators and ensuring that retaliatory killings do not continue to threaten cheetah numbers, while, at the same time, supporting and protecting rural community welfare. Your generous support is already helping us to achieve that.

Only by working together with communities who live side-by-side with predators, with initiatives tailored to meet their needs and priorities, do we hope to foster the attitudes of coexistence that will see cheetahs remain as an essential component in this remarkable ecosystem and as a flagship species for the rich biodiversity of Botswana.  

 

Threats

Due to conflict with humans, cheetah numbers have plummeted by 90% in the last century.  Botswana has one of the last free-ranging cheetah populations in the world, making it an essential stronghold for the future of the species.  Unable to compete with healthy populations of more powerful predators in reserves, Botswana's cheetahs are forced to live closer to villages where human/predator conflict jeopardizes their survival.

Rural communities in Botswana are almost completely dependent upon livestock farming for their livelihoods.  Farmers trap and kill cheetahs that they believe are a threat to their animals.  Cheetahs are usually more interested in wild prey, but as a daytime hunter, they are much more readily spotted on farmland.  Despite the fact that cheetahs are endangered, many are still being killed, and the struggle to find a common ground for humans and cheetahs is ongoing.

Solutions

Cheetah Conservation Botswana (CCB) cultivates a conservation ethic among farmers in Botswana while contributing important scientific data to the international cheetah conservation effort.  Demonstrating predator-proof farming techniques in local workshops, live theater and video production, CCB empowers farmers to secure their livelihoods while sharing land with cheetahs.  CCB is developing "demonstration farms" that highlight sustainable and innovative techniques.   CCB is based at the Mokolodi Nature Reserve near Gabarone in southeastern Botswana.  Its programs include habitat preservation, research, environmental education for local people and visitors, and sustainable use of wildlife and other natural resources. You can help protect Cheetahs in Botswana directly through the Houston Zoo at /conservation/ or visiting Cheetah Conservation Botswana's website http://www.cheetahbotswana.com/  To view a copy of their latest newsletter, please click here