{"id":37376,"date":"2024-04-08T14:27:03","date_gmt":"2024-04-08T12:27:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/a0ad6d42-5cee-4248-90ef-ca603b3daff3"},"modified":"2024-04-08T15:35:43","modified_gmt":"2024-04-08T13:35:43","slug":"australian-born-cheetah-released-in-africa-for-the-first-time-ever-watch-the-heart-warming-moment-edie-is-set-free","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/rss_feed\/australian-born-cheetah-released-in-africa-for-the-first-time-ever-watch-the-heart-warming-moment-edie-is-set-free\/","title":{"rendered":"Australian-born cheetah released in Africa for the first time ever. Watch the heart-warming moment Edie is set free"},"content":{"rendered":"

A cheetah cub from Sydney becomes the first captive-born cheetah to be relocated from Australia to a new life in the wild in Africa. <\/p>

By <\/p>

Published: Monday, 08 April 2024 at 12:27 PM<\/p>

\n\n

Edie, a 1.5-year-old cheetah cub born at the Wild Cat Conservation Centre in Sydney, Australia, is settling into her new home in South Africa\u2019s Mziki Private Game Reserve. <\/p>

Born in September 2022, she\u2019s the first ever Australian cheetah to be translocated to Africa, where she\u2019ll live in the wild.\u00a0<\/p>

The translocation was a partnership between the Wild Cat Conservation Centre<\/a>, WeWild Africa<\/a> (sister NGO of The Aspinall Foundation<\/a>), The Metapopulation Initiative<\/a> and Mziki\u00a0Private Game Reserve.\u00a0<\/p>

Watch the moment Edie was released into her new home in South Africa\u2019s Mziki Private Game Reserve. Credit: Wildcat Conservation Centre & Wewild<\/figcaption><\/figure>

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The process of relocating Edie to the wild started with preparations at the Wild Cat Conservation Centre to develop her fitness, alter\u00a0her diet and hone her predatory skills, with a second phase in Africa to adjust to changes in the climate, prey and other conditions. <\/p>
“Cheetahs have innate predatory skills that need time to be honed, and they need to learn how often to hunt, rather than wasting time and energy hunting too often,\u201d explains\u00a0Tony King, Conservation and Reintroduction Coordinator for The Aspinall Foundation.\u00a0<\/p>
\u201cThey also need time to learn and develop appropriate muscle strength, to feed on tough intact carcasses, rather than on butchered meat that\u2019s usually provided in zoos.\u201d<\/p>
Edie getting to know her new home. Credit: Wildcat Conservation Centre & Wewild<\/figcaption><\/figure>
Cheetahs are listed on the IUCN\u2019s Red List of Threatened Species as Vulnerable and decreasing. It\u2019s estimated that around 7,000 remain\u00a0in the wild, with 90% of the global cheetah population lost over the last century, largely due to habitat loss, human-wildlife conflict and poaching.<\/p>
$\"First-ever$
Edie has been translocated to South Africa to increase the genetic diversity of free-ranging cheetah populations. Credit: Wildcat Conservation Centre & Wewild<\/figcaption><\/figure>
The Aspinall Foundation has previously released numerous cheetahs from captivity, including from Canada, the UK and within South Africa, into the wild. <\/p>
Selecting the right location is key to any captive-born cheetah\u2019s survival. <\/p>
\u201cWe would not release zoo-born cheetahs into reserves with populations of lions or hyenas, or with high densities of leopards, as these are major predators, even of wild cheetahs,\u201d says\u00a0King. \u201cWe wouldn\u2019t expect zoo-born cheetahs to have much chance in such a context. Site selection is crucial, as is ensuring a dedicated team is constantly on hand to monitor and manage the process.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>
$\"First-ever$
Edie in transit between Australia and South Africa. Credit: Wildcat Conservation Centre & Wewild<\/figcaption><\/figure>
With the number of both cheetahs and safe spaces reduced, it\u2019s seen as critical to increase the genetic diversity of free-ranging cheetah populations within protected areas or reserves by bringing in animals with different DNA sequences. <\/p>
\u201cEvery managed metapopulation requires the highest level of genetic diversity as possible, so collaborations with unrelated populations are crucial to long-term population vigour,\u201d says\u00a0King. <\/p>
\u201cEdie is the first cheetah reintroduced to this reserve, but as part of the Cheetah Metapopulation Initiative she is contributing unrelated genetics to this wider population. We\u2019ve already seen this in action through the successful breeding of a relocated male cheetah born at Port Lympne in the UK, who\u2019s not only a successful father in South Africa but also a successful grandfather. A genetic study illustrated that he was contributing novel genetics to the South African metapopulation, improving the genetic diversity of the metapopulation and consequently increasing its capacity to adapt and survive in the long-term.\u201d<\/p>
Conservationists will be hoping for cubs from Edie in future. <\/p>
$\"First-ever$
Edie is the first Australian cheetah to be released into the wild. Credit: Wildcat Conservation Centre & Wewild<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\u201cThe Metapopulation Initiative will bring in appropriate males, probably two initially, to breed with Edie,\u201d King says. \u201cIt\u2019s those future cubs, and their cubs, that will ensure the legacy of spreading Edie\u2019s genetics across the southern African metapopulation. And we will have also provided Edie \u2013 a wild animal, let\u2019s not forget \u2013 with a chance of a life in the wild.\u201d<\/p>
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