Sibella, the Cheetah Super Mom

adminSeptember 29, 2015

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The Samara Private Game Reserve has been successful not only in breeding cheetahs, but is also returning them to the wild. It is now home to the most famous cheetah matriarch, Sibella who was rescued from horrific torture that nearly took her life. In 2003, she was almost fatally injured by hunting dogs and left in a cage to be shot until the farmer’s wife called the Ann van Dyk Cheetah Centre who offered to take her. Since then, she has contributed to 2% of the wild cheetah population of South Africa and is currently raising her 20th cub. No one would have imagined that a wild animal, brutalized by man, enduring painful surgery and recovery, could regain the strength to become a successful hunter and mother of many litters? As of mid-2012, Sibella has had another litter of cubs on this land where they have been absent for nearly 125 years.

To prepare the Samara Reserve for Sibella, the land required rehabilitation from generations of overuse by livestock farming. The true heroes were Sarah and Mark Tompkins, who purchased eleven farms, 70,000 acres, tore down the fences and let the land sit dormant for five years. The process of recovery continues to this day, as topsoil erosion and damage from overgrazing can be seen in some parts of the reserve. Gradually they reintroduced game to the land, being careful that the fragile ecosystem could handle the new population of animals. Volunteers continue to assist in erosion control techniques and the planting of spekboom which requires precious little water to survive. It is not just a simple solution of reintroducing animals to an area where they were eliminated. This was the reestablishment of an entire ecosystem. The Samara Project was literally starting from the ground up.

Humans have inhabited this region for over 20,000 years. In a remote corner of the reserve is a cave that overlooks the valley, containing an ancient painting of a cheetah, displayed prominently on the wall. Present belief is that these paintings are about 500 years old.

Back to the present day, here is the best news of all!! There is a cheetah baby-boom happening in Samara. Two more females known to inhabit the area have given birth to cubs. Birthing, which occurs during the winter months is no easy feat, a testament to the strength of the resident cats. Cheetahs are thriving in Samara, due to the lack of competition from other predators (lions and hyenas do not inhabit the area), their chance for survival is strong. Since lack of genetic diversity is a serious issue in wild cheetah populations, Samara partners with the Endangered Wildlife Trust in swapping cheetahs with other reserves to ensure the gene pool stays as strong as possible. The carrying capacity of the reserve will remain stable. For the future Samara hopes to link with neighboring parks, creating one of South Africa’s largest wild animal reserves. After an absence of 125 years, the cheetah has returned once again to the Eastern Cape.