South Africa: New lion research project launched in Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park!

South African National Parks (SANParks), in collaboration with the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT), has launched an exciting new lion research project in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, a premier wildlife destination spanning South Africa and Botswana. The initiative aims to gather essential scientific data on the park’s lion population—determining how many lions live here, where they roam, and how they navigate this vast arid landscape.

Lions are apex predators that play a critical role in maintaining a balanced and healthy ecosystem. To manage and conserve them effectively, SANParks needs accurate, up-to-date information on their numbers, movement patterns, and territories. Over the coming months, field teams will use safe, non-invasive research methods - such as remote cameras, track identification, visitor sightings, and detailed photographic records - to build a comprehensive understanding of the park’s lion dynamics.

Visitors to Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park may notice clearly marked SANParks or EWT research vehicles. Researchers may occasionally approach lions briefly to capture identification photographs, focusing on distinctive features such as whisker spot patterns, scars, and other unique markings.

SANParks kindly requests all guests to give research teams plenty of space and to drive respectfully without crowding lions. By doing so, visitors actively contribute to the success of this conservation effort.

Guests with questions about the project are encouraged to speak to SANParks staff at reception. Researchers may also be available for informal, safe conversations in designated public areas, offering visitors a unique opportunity to learn more about lion conservation firsthand.

This collaboration between SANParks and the EWT marks a significant step forward in protecting one of Africa’s most iconic and endangered predators- and offers every park visitor the chance to be part of that story.

 

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Malawi: African Wild Dogs return to Liwonde National Park and Majete Wildlife Reserve!

Malawi’s Department of National Parks and Wildlife (DNPW) in cooperation with African Parks and the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) has succesfully reintroduced 14 African Wild Dogs from South Africa and Mozambique to Liwonde National Park and Majete Wildlife Reserve*. A pack of eight animals were released into bomas in Liwonde National Park and a pack of six into bomas in Majete Wildlife Reserve, where they will remain for several weeks, allowing them to adjust to the new conditions before being fully released into the wider park areas. Each pack has been fitted with a mix of satellite and radio collars to facilitate the continual monitoring of their location and habitat use and ensure their long-term protection in the parks. According to Cole du Plessis, coordinator of EWT's Wild Dog Range Expansion Project, there have been no stable established packs of African Wild Dogs in Malawi for more than 20 years, possibly since the 1980s. [src.] 

All dogs safely released into their temporary boma to acclimatise after translocation,
Majete Wildlife Reserve, Malawi © Matt Moon

The African Wild Dogs were sourced from Gorongosa National Park and Karingani Game Reserve in Mozambique, and Somkhanda Community Game Reserve and Maremani Nature Reserve in South Africa.

*African Parks manages Liwonde and Majete protected areas in partnership with the Department of National Parks and Wildlife (DNPW).

Malawi: Cheetahs make return to Majete Wildlife Reserve!

African Parks, in partnership with the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT), has succesfully translocated a small founder population of four wild cheetahs from South Africa to Majete Wildlife Reserve in the south-western part of Malawi. Cheetahs have not been present in the Wildlife Reserve, which is country's only Big Five reserve, for decades. Donated by Welgevonden Game Reserve, Samara Game Reserve and Dinokeng Game Reserve as well as Rietvlei Nature Reserve in South Africa, the cheetahs were flown to Lilongwe International Airport (LLW) in Lilongwe and transferred by road to Majete Wildlife Reserve where they arrived safely on the evening of 25 July 2019. They were released into enclosures, where they will spend over a month acclimating to their new surroundings before venturing into the wider reserve. The animals are in good health and expected to do well in Majete Wildlife Reserve, where habitat and prey conditions are optimal and measures are in place to ensure their ongoing conservation and protection.

Cheetah Return to Majete from African Parks on Vimeo.

African Parks manages Majete Wildlife Reserve and Liwonde National Park in Malawi in partnership with the country's Department of National Parks and Wildlife (DNPW). Majete Wildlife Reserve is located in the Lower Shire Valley in the South West of Malawi, approximately 70km (approx. 90 minutes drive by car) from Blantyre's Chileka International Airport (BLZ) and three hours from Lake Malawi.

South Africa: Pack of African Wild Dog released onto the Zululand Rhino Reserve!

A pack of six African Wild Dogs has been released onto the Zululand Rhino Reserve (ZRR) in northern KwaZulu-Natal on 01 May 2015 by the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) as part of the National Wild Dog Metapopulation Project. The newly bonded pack includes four females and two males.

EWT's David Marneweck said: "African Wild Dogs are the most endangered carnivore in South Africa with a high degree of historical persecution resulting in with a drastic reduction in their numbers and range. Wild Dogs face a number of threats including direct persecution through hunting and car collisions, disease outbreak, indirect persecution (snaring) and habitat fragmentation. With consistently less than 450 Wild Dogs in South Africa, reintroductions of newly formed packs into areas where they formally inhabited is resulting in increasing the number of individuals, packs and their conservation status in South Africa. Our National Wild Dog Metapopulation Project works across three provinces to facilitate the coordinated management of Wild Dogs in small, isolated and fenced reserves in order to improve the status of this endangered species in South Africa. We are extremely excited to announce that Zululand Rhino Reserve will now become an integral part of the national metapopulation and we look forward to the persistence of Wild Dogs in this pristine habitat in the northern KZN region.

The Zululand Rhino Reserve (ZRR), located within the Msunduzi valley in northern Zululand  in KwaZulu-Natal, is the 10th current metapopulation Wild Dog Reserve in South Africa and is located in the very heart of the KZN Wild Dog population. It is home to over 70 mammal species and an exceptional diversity of birdlife.

Pretoria: Rietvlei Nature Reserve introduced a male cheetah after a two year absence!

The Rietvlei Nature Reserve, situated between Johannesburg and Pretoria, has introduced a new male cheetah into its 3 800ha reserve after a two year absence in order to regulate the prey population in the reserve. The reserve was left without cheetah after the two male cheetah, which got reintroduced into Rietvlei in March 2003, died in 2012 and 2013 from old age. Rietvlei Game Reserve and the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) are currently also searching for a female cheetah to join the new male. This should happen by early 2015. Rietvlei Nature Reserve forms part of EWT's Cheetah Metapopulation Project.



Rietvlei Nature Reserve, owned and managed by the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality, is situated 18km from the centre of Pretoria and 38km from the OR Tambo International Airport. Located within the reserve is the Rietvlei Dam. The reserve is home to blesbuck, black wildebeest, red hartebeest, eland, Burchell's zebra, waterbuck, reedbuck, springbuck, mountain reedbuck, steenbuck, grey duiker, as well as to cheetah, leopard, buffalo, hippopotamus and white rhino.