&Beyond Phinda Private Game Reserve is renowned for some of the best cheetah sightings in South Africa. This most elegant and graceful of all cats was reintroduced to the land in 1992, when five males and four females were brought in from Namibia. The reintroduction was carefully timed in order to give the cheetah time to settle before lion where brought into the reserve, the first time the two species had been successfully reintroduced into the same area. Since then, the cheetah have not only survived but thrived and Phinda now boasts South Africa’s fourth largest and most important cheetah population. Between 1992 and 2013, the reserve has seen 70 litters being born, with a total of 124 cubs. As a result of this healthy increase in the cheetah population, 53 animals have been relocated to other reserves countrywide in order to boost other populations while keeping Phinda’s cheetah numbers at optimal levels for the land size. The reserve’s cheetah are highly sought after, as they respect electric fences, are aware of lions and are habituated to game viewing vehicles.
The most intensively monitored and researched cheetah in South Africa, the population has been actively monitored since 2008, with additional males brought in to diversify bloodlines.
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