It was with some concern that we reported a few weeks ago of an injured cheetah, Savannah's foot, and Rhulani's spontaneous help to ensure the healing process. It was an action with mixed success. Now the question is: how is Savannah today? Rhulani's ranger Willem tells us: " Savannah is very much full force again, back on all four legs!”
Savannah, one of Madikwe’s female cheetah, has grown on us over the past few years. We accompanied her arrival in Madikwe some years ago, looked after her in the habituation process of in the dangerous Big5 reserve, and with great admiration we witnessed the birth of four little cheetahs in the middle of the Corona lockdown. This was the first ever cheetah birth in Madikwe!
We don't know where Savannah's foot injury came from. We did our best to help the shy cat (see here). Since then, things have gone quiet around Savannah.
Rhulani’s ranger Willem tells us: “We had her a couple of days ago down in the south-west where she was trying to hunt some impalas which was quite spectacular.
We started follow her for a few minutes. She climbed on top of a termite mound and looked down into the plains and into the distance. One of the guests noticed there was some impalas on the other side, so we turned around and indeed, Savannah was stalking the herd of impala.
After a few minutes sitting there, and then, oh my goodness, you have no idea how fast this cheetah is. Savannah runs like lightning! It was the first time ever since I am guiding that I see a cheetah stalking and chasing impala. She didn’t succeed in making the catch, but it was an incredible sighting and definitely a proof that savannah is fully recovered.”
Animals in Madikwe are generally left to their fate. With a species as endangered worldwide as the cheetah, and with the goal of cheetah reproduction, Savannah represents an exception.
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