02/13/2024

Maasai Mara and we have suffered a great loss – on February 12, our colleague and friend Tipayo Mpoke Oloisuya, our dear Jonah, suddenly passed away of a heart attack. As a true Ranger, he died at work, while monitoring cheetahs to whom he was devoted wholeheartedly. Johnah has become the Chief Ranger of the new Cheetah Monitoring and Protection Team formed by Narok County, which we have been working with since day one. Thanks to the hard work of the team, and to a large extent to Johnah’s uncompromising, strong character, his responsibility and passion for cheetahs, Nashipai saved all four cubs, which happened in the Reserve for the first time since the 2020 lockdown. Jonah always took animal welfare matters to heart, caring deeply for every animal he monitored. The last month has been especially difficult. At first, the female Kisaru, with whom the team spent many days, died, and Jonah participated in the rescue of her cub Lekisaru, sincerely rejoicing that the cub remained in the Mara. And since yesterday, he has been tirelessly monitoring Olonyok after treating his injury. Jonah was very worried about the future of the male. In his big and kind heart there was enough room for everyone, man and animals. And it’s impossible to believe that this wonderful heart has stopped forever. On behalf of our team, I offer my deepest condolences to Jonah’s family, relatives, colleagues and friends. I am proud and grateful for the opportunity to work with such a wonderful person, learn, share and experience victories and sorrows together. And keeping the bright memory of you, we, together with your colleagues, will continue to preserve the cheetahs of the Mara, whom you sincerely loved and to whom you devoted so much effort and care. Blessed memory of you, you will always be with us.

01/17/2024

Cheetahs are opportunistic hunters. They hunt any available prey, in any weather conditions and at any time of the day, including night. The reason for this is that even when the environmental conditions are favorable, and prey is available, hunting may be hampered by the presence of food and territorial competitors (i.g. baboons, lions, hyenas). In most cases, they hide at a great distance, trying to be unnoticed, and patiently wait for the cheetahs to hunt. Some hyenas in the Mara have developed an advantageous strategy – to follow the cheetahs and lie down 25-30 meters away watching cheetahs. Sometimes cheetahs try to escape from unwanted pursuers, and then they go away for several kilometers and even cross the river. If there is a camp on the way to the most convenient crossing, some cheetahs will eventually develop the optimal route and fearlessly pass through the camp area to the river bank. Several times we observed Tano Bora males entering the gate of the Julia’s camp and soon crossing the Talek River. Less often hyenas lose interest and leave after a few hours. If this happens at dusk, cheetahs may begin hunting as soon as competitors are out of sight. It is easier for a coalition to catch and kill large game, and this requires the cooperation of all members of the group. Rarely does an adult male manage to take down an adult Wildebeest or Topi alone. In the Tano Bora coalition, Olonyok often started and ended the chase alone, but success was ensured when Winda helped him. For a successful hunt, males evaluate environmental conditions, and in rare cases, when circumstances interfere, one partner is unable to take part in the hunt in time, and both lose the prey. Moreover, strong ungulates (Zebra, Wildebeest, Eland, Topi) can begin to chase an unsuccessful hunter or injure a cheetah with their hooves or horns from a turn. This happened when Winda chased after the Topi alone, while Olonyok slowed down behind. Fortunately, no one was hurt.

12/25/2023

Dear Friends, Colleagues, Partners and Supporters, I would like to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of you for being with us for all these years, for your comprehensive financial support that contributed to our great achievements, and for all the wise advice and inspiring words that have given us strength in our daily tireless work in cheetah conservation! We sincerely wish you happiness, joy, success, peace and prosperity in the new year!

12/21/2023

Osidai (Handsome in Maa) is a 7-year-old male who got his name due to his strength, durability and outstanding survival skills. The harsh events of his life have left marks on his face in the form of scratches and gray skin around the eyes. Therefore, his name can be interpreted as “Outstanding.” After reaching the age of independence, young cheetahs disperse into the Mara-Serengeti ecosystem. Females tend to live within the home range of their mothers, while males migrate over long distances. This is an effective mechanism for avoiding inbreeding. Wherein some cheetahs remain in the Mara, others go to Tanzania. Osidai was the only one out of 5 Miale’s cubs, born in 2016, that she raised to independence. Soon after separating from his mother, the young male found a partner – Olchorre, who had lost his brother 3 weeks before. The new union lasted less than 5 months – Olchorre appeared alone, and Miale’s son gone missing. In August 2022, he appeared in the Reserve after 4.5 years, which became the longest absence of a cheetah that we recorded in the Mara! Unfortunately, at that time he was affected by Sarcoptic mange – a highly contagious mite infection caused by Sarcoptes scabiei burrowing under the skin of domestic and wild mammals. It took him a year to begin to recover, and now, in December 2023, he looks healthy and strong again, fully living up to its name. Osidai is in reproductive age and we hope he will contribute to the gene pool of the Mara cheetahs.

12/10/2023

In the wild, it is impossible to estimate the rate of survival of cub females versus cub males’ because the sex of the cubs at birth is unknown. Some families are spotted first when cubs are about 4 months old, and could already have lost littermates, as the first three months are known to be the most critical for cheetah cub survival. Our long-term observations in the Mara suggest that cub survival rate of males is higher that of females. Majority of the litters at the first encounter, contained cubs of both sexes. Out of 43 litters, for which the time of cubs’ dispersal was known, in 81% litters (n=35) was at least one cub male. In 2022, out of 6 litters raised to independence, 5 litters contained at least one male, and out of 15 cubs, 60% were males (n=9). With age, cub become more active, and spend more time playing with each other. For the single cub, the only partner is the mother. In the beginning of July 2023, Kisaru gave birth to four cubs at the Mbokishi Conservancy. Within 1,5 months, she lost half of a litter, and started travelling through the conservancies with two remaining cubs – a male and a female. In the last week of November, she appeared on the eastern border of the Reserve with a single cub – a son. For a week, she was trying to proceed deeper into the reserve, but did not manage to cross the high and rough waters of the Talek river.
After hunting, cheetahs usually drag a kill into the nearest bushes and by that, keep it safe for hours. Depending on the number and age of the cubs, the family is feeding on the adult Thomson gazelle or Impala from one to 6 hours. When hunting in the open area, cheetahs risk losing a kill to kleptoparasites. Flying vultures attract jackals and hyenas. By follow cheetahs, jackals sometimes distract their hunts. While single cheetahs and male coalitions sometimes share the part of a kill with jackals, cheetah mothers rarely tolerate these small predators and chase them. The cubs assert themselves, driving the jackals away from their prey. Females with a single cub, are feeding in turns, sharing vigilance.
Lions and hyenas are known to be the major enemies of cheetahs, and mothers do their best to protect their offspring and teach survival strategies. By seeing approaching hyena or a lion, cheetah mother would rush towards it and lead away from her cubs. Recently, we observed how Kirasu ran towards a big lioness who had spotted cheetahs from far and was running towards them. Fortunately, on the way to the cheetah family, the lioness saw a family of Warthogs, caught one and lost interest in cheetahs. However, Kisaru had reached the lioness, followed and slapped her from the back. Her son was watching the scene from over 200 meters and ran towards the mother, when the action was over. The lioness focused on protecting her prey from the hyenas, and the cheetah family escaped safely.