Over the past four years and many different studies in the Ghanzi District, CCB has collected over 2500 photos of cheetahs from motion-activated cameras. From this photographic record, we have compiled a “Cheetah ID Book” using unique spot patterns to identify individual cheetahs. So far we have identified 148 individual cheetahs (71 solitary cats and 77 found in a total of 24 groups) from photos from 13 farms in the Ghanzi commercial farm block. Individual identification and recognition will allow us to better understand local cheetah population dynamics as well as allowing us to analyse behaviour and demographic characteristics such as male/female ratios, information about family groups, group sizes and territory sizes. Camera traps give us an amazing insight into the lives of these elusive cats. Contact us if you would like to sponsor a camera trap!
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![]() CCB's research team attended the Botswana Research Symposium in Maun, the week of the 4th - 7th February 2014. CCB research officers, Phale Phale and Jane Horgan gave a presentation entitled 'Human wildlife conflict: an obstacle to agro-ecological systems'. The CCB team was one of the only participants out of the 200 attendees to highlight the importance of addressing the human side of human wildlife conflict, showing that dealing with the human element is necessary to saving the predators that are so vulnerable to conflict, like cheetahs. The team was encouraged and inspired by the other bright minds at the symposium to continue their fight to save Botswana's predators from extinction. |
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