Cheetahs reintroduced in Malawi after a 20 year absence!

A small founder population of four cheetahs has been successfully relocated to Liwonde National Park in Malawi. The relocation of the cheetahs follows a 20-year absence of the species in the country. The four predators were translocated from four South African game reserves: the Phinda Game Reserve and Welgevonden Private Game Reserve each made a male cheetah available, while Mountain Zebra National Park and Amakhala Private Game Reserve each made a female cheetah available.

Liwonde National Park is located in southern Malawi, about 160km north of Blantyre. It is situated on the left bank of the Shire river between Lake Malombe and Liwonde. Although only about 580km² is size, the national park is perhaps the most popular of all the game parks in Malawi.

The translocation of the four cheetahs was led by African Parks, a conservation non-profit that manages national parks and protected areas on behalf of governments across the continent, in partnership with South Africa's Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) and Malawi's Department of National Parks and Wildlife (DNPW).