Cheetah translocation success in Southern Africa

Abstract

Cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) in South Africa are influenced by unique ecological and anthropogenic factors, yet nationwide populations continue to grow whilst globally they decline. Fragmented habitats and isolated subpopulations of cheetah have led to a metapopulation management strategy being adopted, where individuals are moved between reserves to facilitate gene flow. The Endangered Wildlife Trust coordinates this metapopulation, which encompasses 59 nature reserves and 421 cheetahs. This study focused on the 235 translocations that occurred between reserves between 2011 and 2019. Translocation success was measured as post-release survival duration and breeding productivity. I identified four features that could influence translation success: whether lion are present in the recipient reserve, whether cheetah have lived alongside lions previously (are they naïve or savvy), cheetah age at translocation, and reserve vegetation suitability. Vegetation suitability is defined as the similarity in sender and recipient reserve greenness and phenology. Post-release survival duration was lower in areas with lions present, especially when cheetah were naïve to lions. Survival duration was also lower in individuals translocated at a young ages (9, 18, 36 months), and optimised in individuals at 83 months old. Moving to a greener reserve also reduced survival duration. Post-release survival duration also improved breeding productivity. Cheetah were also more likely to produce a litter and raise cubs to independence when sender and receiver reserves had a more correlated vegetation phenology, and moving to a greener reserve reduced the probability of producing and raising cubs. This study highlights that exposure to lions, age at translocation, and reserve suitability are all questions of paramount importance when managing cheetah under a metapopulation management strategy. These key influencing factors must be considered when planning future reintroductions in order to continue the conservation success of South Africa’s cheetah metapopulation. Given the cheetah population is growing in the metapopulation, other countries facing similar threats to cheetah in South Africa may want to consider introducing a metapopulation approach