Human-wildlife conflicts are common across the globe. In Namibia, cheetahs roam freely on privately owned farmland and occasionally prey on cattle calves. Drawing on GPS data obtained and analyzed in close collaboration with farmers, the CRP unraveled the spatial sytem of cheetah society and identified communication hubs as hotspots of cheetah activity and farmer-cheetah conflict. In a new range-wide study we aim to understand these patterns in a wider context across the range - and potentially upscale a successful conservation solution

Capturing cheetahs with cage traps is one of the spines of the Cheetah Research Project. For several research questions addressed in the CRP, long-term data and information obtained from free-ranging cheetahs in the core study area are essential. Theoretically, this is a task that can be carried out at any time of the year - still, there are high-times of trappings and quieter times. Are there “trapping seasons” and if so, for what reasons? Here we explore the rationale behind the first concentrated trapping campaign of the year 2021.

The central study area of the IZW Cheetah Research Project is situated east and northeast of Namibia’s capital Windhoek and covers an area of approximately 40.000 km². Nearly every square meter is utilized by commercial farmers, who mainly conduct cattle breeding. In 2020, the CRP is again running a comprehensive camera trap survey in this area employing camera traps to gain insights into the behaviour of the cheetahs and to estimate their density.

Our long-term Cheetah Research Project is located in the savannahs of Central Namibia, investigating the health status, immunology, reproduction and spatial ecology of the elusive and threatened cat. Additionally, the research team is carrying out a cheetah survey across Namibia since 2015 to estimate the density of cheetah in different habitats throughout the country. The final aim is to estimate the total population size using empirical data collected at field following a scientific procedure.