The journey to save our big cats

These cheetah cubs were rescued from traffickers in Somaliland, a self-declared autonomous republic in the Horn of Africa. Wildlife trafficking is the world’s fourth largest illicit trade network— eclipsed only by drugs, human trafficking, and counterfeiting. “Exotic” species are illegally traded for their body parts, to perform in circuses or zoos, or to serve as prestige pets. Had they not been rescued, these cubs might have ended up in the Middle East, in the hands of private owners, their images even shared on social media. Only around 7,000 adult cheetahs remain in the wild, their numbers diminished by habitat loss, low reproductive rates, a limited gene pool—and illegal trafficking.

Ashia Cheetah Center is a captive-rearing facility located in South Africa’s Western Cape 45 minutes’ drive from Cape Town. In 2016, business-owners-turned-conservationists Chantal Rischard and Stephan Illenberger founded the center to try and help arrest the decline in wild cheetah populations. In addition to facilitating rescue operations and providing a sanctuary, Ashia Cheetah Center prepares captive-bred cheetahs for life in the wild via phased reintroduction programs, as well as translocating them by air and road to game reserves. Currently, 13 cheetahs live at the center—five are permanent residents, while eight are to be rewilded.

In the first phase of the rewilding process, cheetahs at Ashia are fed raw game and undergo fasting and fitness regimes, DNA testing, health checks, and vaccinations. In phase two, they are relocated to pre-release enclosures within private game reserves. This simulates a wild environment so that the cheetahs can learn how to hunt wild game. Lastly, in coordination with relevant conservation authorities, the cheetahs are released into private game reserves and national parks across South and southern Africa. Since 2018, 36 cheetahs reared at Ashia Cheetah Center have been released into the wild.

Marna Smit, conservation director at Ashia Cheetah Center uses a microscope to examine cheetah scat for intestinal parasites. It’s crucial cats that are to be rewilded are in optimal health to survive the rigors of life in the wild. Because the genetic stock of wild cheetahs is so limited, in-breeding is common. By introducing captive genetics, which are several generations removed from their counterparts in the wild, conservationists hope to improve the gene pool of so-called “metapopulations.” But the success of rewilding programs will depend also on the success of efforts to restore habitats and curb poaching and trafficking.

More than 5,000 miles [8,500 kilometers] away in the Ukraine, weeks before the Russian invasion, a male lion bred in captivity for human entertainment is about to be freed from the concrete enclosure in which he’s spent most of his life. Warriors of Wildlife is an NGO that rescues wild animals including lions, tigers, and bears, primarily from zoos and circuses in Eastern Europe, relocating them to their wildlife sanctuary in South Africa. Warriors of Wildlife founder Lionel de Lange says “There are no facilities or sanctuaries for wildcats [in Eastern Europe] so we’ve got to bring them out.”

In January 2022, Warriors of Wildlife translocated five lions and one tiger from captivity in Ukraine through Turkey to their wildlife sanctuary, Simbonga, in South Africa’s Eastern Cape. The sedated cats were in travel crates for 87 hours under the care of veterinarians throughout their journey, which was facilitated by logistics company DHL and involved x-ray scans, vet examinations, and customs clearances. DHL regularly transports wild animals in support of rescue and conservation efforts. In 2020, the company facilitated the transfer of a lone 36-year-old elephant whose mate had recently passed away from Pakistan to a sanctuary in Cambodia where he has other elephants for company.

Lionel de Lange is the founder and director of Warriors of Wildlife. A self-proclaimed lifelong animal lover, Lionel de Lange got involved in wildlife rescue after moving from South Africa to Ukraine and seeing a local zoo there struggling to feed its animals. Today De Lange takes on a myriad of roles, from investigating reports of abuse and planning rescue missions in tandem with logistics companies like DHL, to helping with operations at the Warriors of Wildlife sanctuary and Simbonga Game Reserve and Sanctuary in Eastern Cape, South Africa. To date, Warriors of Wildlife has rescued and relocated 27 lions, one tiger, and six bears.

Following their long journey from Eastern Europe, the five lions—Hercules, Cher, Khaya, Ilana, and Aslan—and one tiger, Kisa, are given time to acclimatize to their new home at Simbonga Game Reserve and Sanctuary. Each cat is given a minimum of 26,900 square feet [2,500 square meters] in which to roam. Unlike cheetahs captive-bred specifically for release into game reserves, these animals have never learned to hunt or to survive in the wild. But the semi-arid veld and around 3000 hours of sunshine a year are a far cry from the freezing winters and concrete pens they’ve endured for most of their lives.

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