Mbogo Cheetah Centre

Mbogo Cheetah Centre is committed to conservation through education, breeding and reintroduction.

We are a small non-profit organization situated on the Farm Jakhalskop/Dayton, approximately 39 km outside the town of Welkom in the Free State province of South Africa.

We are a small team, all of whom are passionate about cheetahs and we work tirelessly to try and save them from extinction.
Our History, Goals & Aims.

 

Mbogo Cheetah Centre was founded in 2010 by the Schutte family as part of our ongoing commitment to conservation. We so far have successfully bred and hand-reared 30 cheetahs, of which 20 have been sold to other breeders, both in South Africa and internationally.

We soon realized however that this was not enough, and that the wild population was still decreasing. We are working on a reintroduction project, where we plan to release captive bred cheetahs back into their natural habitats through a three-phase program. It is tremendously exciting for all involved.

Our Reintroduction Project

The main problem encountered is that there are numerous problems introducing hand-reared animals to the wild as they would always associate humans with food, which would bring them into conflict with local populations. Moreover, a cheetah born in captivity (which all of ours have been) has not been taught how to hunt by its mother. The instinct is there, but it lacks the knowledge and technique to stalk, capture and kill suitable prey. Therefore, we decided that the only possible solution was to take a long-term view of the problem and to allow mothers to teach their cubs how to hunt.

Phase 1: Breeding and selection

Phase 2: Reintroduction preparation

Phase 3: Research and Release