First Ever Captive-Born Cheetah Brothers Successfully Released Into The Wild

Mariel Ruvinsky • Writer and Editor

Feb 25, 2021 9:00 AM EST

An amazing world-first achievement: Saba and Nairo, two captive-born cheetahs from the UK have been released into the wild in Africa.

The two brothers, as IFLSCIENCE reports, were born at Port Lympne Hotel & Reserve in Kent, England, on July 15, 2017. Very quickly though, Saba "showed signs of illness and it was discovered that his liver wasn't functioning properly." To keep him alive, he had to be removed from the litter and hand-raised by Damian and Victoria Aspinall of The Aspinall Foundation. Under their watchful care, he made a full recovery. Of course, because of the way he grew up, he inevitably grew used to playing with humans and being fed, qualities which he would have to overcome if he were one day released into the wild.

"Saba rejoined his brother Nairo in December 2018 and despite their time apart the pair immediately formed a bond." And today, after honing their cheetah instincts for 12 months, the two of them have been released into the wild in Africa.

Read more about the story and check out pics of the adorable brothers below.

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via @Dylblew

The Aspinall Foundation were absolutely ecstatic to announce that Saba and Nairo have completed their final stage of rewilding, according to katzenworld. They were sent from Howletts Wild Animal Park in Kent to their new life in the wilderness of South Africa's Great Karoo. For 12 months, the cheetah brothers "have been honing their natural instincts to a razor's edge, first at Ashia Cheetah Conservation just outside Cape Town and later in a 741-acre training camp at Mount Camdeboo Private Reserve."
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via katzenworld

Now, they are self-sufficient hunters, able to take care of themselves and easily take down large prey, such as kudu and blesbok like any wild cheetah. The Aspinall Foundation, on the 17th of February, released the two cheetahs from their training camp and into the main 8,000 hectare protected reserve at Mount Camdeboo. The brothers will be monitored using satellite and telemetry tracking as they explore their new home, where they will hunt, meet females, and live the lives they were always meant to live - as free and wild cheetahs.
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via katzenworld

Damian Aspinall, the Chairman of The Aspinall Foundation, said: "This is an incredible success for The Aspinall Foundation, Mount Camdeboo and Ashia Cheetah Conservation. Many doubted that this groundbreaking project was possible, but together we have definitively proven that captive-born cheetahs can be successfully rewilded. We are already working with other organisations to replicate this incredible project and rewild more cheetahs in Africa, bringing valuable new genetics to local populations and return these stunning cats to their ancestral homelands."
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via katzenworld

We hope these two brothers live a happy and long life in the wild, finding partners and making families that will not only make them happy but will also contribute to the South African cheetah population and help these animals stay with us for a long, long time. This is an amazing achievement highly worthy of celebration, and we can only hope more and more of those will come in the future.
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via katzenworld
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via katzenworld
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via katzenworld
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via katzenworld

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