In March, Dr. Leslie Ruyle and a new cohort of enthusiastic students from Texas A&M University visited the Cheetah Conservation Botswana (CCB) camp for another hands-on collaboration aimed at addressing human-wildlife conflict through practical innovation toward co-existence.
 
Over four days in the Ghanzi District, the team worked closely with CCB staff and local farmers to refine technology-driven predation and livestock management interventions. Their visit built on earlier research, including the pilot testing of the “crazy cat eyes” predator deterrent – a motion-activated device designed to ward off nocturnal carnivores by emitting high-frequency sounds. Together with CCB’s Human-Wildlife Coexistence Coordinator, Rethabile Setlalekgomo, the team serviced previously installed equipment, assessed deterrent effectiveness, and adapted the device to better meet farmers’ needs in real-world conditions.
 
A visit to Tshwaragano cattle post in New Xade – where leopard and African Wild Dog predation remains high as it borders the Central Kalahari Game Reserve – brought important conversations to the fore. Farmers described how the area’s high salinity borehole water forces herders to leave livestock unattended while collecting drinkable water from distant sources. Recognising this as a hidden driver of predator conflict, the students used their meal-prep down-time to mull over this and committed to exploring designs for a low-cost reverse osmosis filtration system to address the issue upon their return this May.
 
Additional proposals welcomed by farmers included kraal gate sensors, QR-coded stickers for government ear tags, and automated livestock tracking through Ceres-compatible systems. The team conducted on-site measurements of livestock and kraals to ensure the technologies would be locally adaptable. This venturing into utilising tailored technological tools is still in its early stages for Botswana and the Ghanzi region, and it’s encouraging to see how open farming communities are to evaluating their effectiveness through trial and error.
 
Back at the CCB camp, preparations also got underway for elephant deterrents – a mix of chili, dung, eggs, and other natural ingredients – formulated to shield vulnerable infrastructure like water tanks from elephant damage. The terrain of the district is not favourable to these gentle giants – thus making them an anomaly to residents – however, the impact of climate change in the country has exacerbated their frequency in the region; therefore requiring timely intervention.
 
Looking ahead, Dr. Ruyle’s return with more students over the May-June period will see the deployment of new oversight and protective technologies like cattle-counting gate sensors, QR-tagged livestock IDs, and enhanced predator deterrents; and the pilot installation of the water filter system at Tshwaragano cattle post.

This enduring partnership between CCB and Texas A&M continues to demonstrate the power of interdisciplinary collaboration, where community needs, conservation science, and creative engineering come together to build real-world solutions for productive coexistence.
 
This enduring partnership between CCB and Texas A&M continues to demonstrate the power of interdisciplinary collaboration, where community needs, conservation science, and creative engineering come together to build real-world solutions for productive coexistence.

On March 15, 2025, Botswana marked a significant milestone by successfully launching its first satellite, BOTSAT-1, aboard SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in the USA. This 3U hyperspectral Earth Observation satellite, developed collaboratively by the Botswana International University of Science and Technology (BIUST) and EnduroSat, is poised to revolutionise the nation's approach to environmental conservation and sustainable development.
 
BOTSAT-1's advanced imaging capabilities will provide detailed data on land use, vegetation health, and water resources. This information is crucial for monitoring and protecting Botswana's rich biodiversity, enabling authorities to track wildlife movements, detect changes in natural habitats, and implement timely interventions against environmental threats. Such precise data also empowers conservationists to make informed decisions, ensuring the preservation of the country's natural heritage for future generations.
 
For many years, CCB has been gathering data and generating knowledge about cheetahs using on-the-ground and technology-aided methods. Cheetahs’ relationships with the landscape and other wildlife have continued to shift due to various elements – from habitat loss to climate change – and we have incorporated our findings into the numerous outputs and interventions we coordinate. As such, we are encouraged by this launch to continue on the innovative path we have been plotting.  
 
Beyond conservation, the satellite's data will support sustainable urban planning and agricultural practices. By analysing environmental patterns and land utilisation, policymakers can design infrastructure projects that harmonise with the natural environment, promoting eco-friendly urban development. Farmers will benefit from insights into soil conditions and crop health, facilitating precision agriculture that optimises yields while minimising environmental impact.
 
The successful deployment of BOTSAT-1 symbolises Botswana's commitment to harnessing science and technology for national progress. It reflects a vision where innovation drives sustainable development, positioning the country as a leader in utilising space technology to address ecological challenges and map a brighter, more sustainable future.

​Most of the work we do at CCB has long-term impacts for cheetahs, other wildlife and communities. Our work, amongst other things, is more about building sustainable change, like helping develop human-wildlife coexistence landscapes, building capacity within communities to benefit from wildlife and changing policy to secure safe areas where wildlife can roam. It’s not that often that we directly experience saving a cheetah’s life. But this May, we were able to say that we definitely saved four. 
 
We received a call from the Department of Wildlife and National Parks (DWNP) that a farmer had caught a cheetah in a trap and they needed our help to move it into the Central Kalahari Game Reserve. The cheetah had killed two of the farmers goats, and he could no longer cope with having her on his farm. CCB joined the DWNP officers when they went to the farm, only to discover that the female cheetah was not alone — she had three, very small cubs with her in the cage trap. The cubs were incredibly young — we estimated around 4 – 6 weeks of age — an age when cubs are usually stashed safely away in their dens and are rarely seen. This changed everything. 
 
Translocating cheetahs means removing them from conflict situations and relocating them to other areas like national parks, where they are away from livestock and can avoid conflict situations. This practice has been used in the past as a non-lethal alternative to extreme cases of human-wildlife conflict – a much better alternative to the farmers using lethal forms of control. After extensive research on cheetah translocations, CCB learned a lot about what happens when you translocate a cheetah. Thanks to GPS collaring of translocated cheetahs, we learned that cheetahs who are moved often take extensive journeys to try to return to their homes, even when moved up to 100km (62 miles) away. These journeys are often undertaken quite quickly, with cheetahs moving up to 39km (24 miles) in one day. 
 
With this in mind, we knew that the cubs had no chance of survival if they were translocated with their mother. If moved, we knew that the mother would either abandon the cubs to return back to her home, or would die defending her cubs in a new environment where she did not know the safe places to keep her cubs, or how to protect them from the various unknown carnivores that would threaten them (there are lions in the game reserves, but not in the farms where she was from). 
 
The CCB team worked together with the DWNP to come up with a viable solution. Unfortunately ,the farmer was not willing to release them back onto his farm, so we concluded that the only solution to give them the best chance of survival was to keep them at our rehabilitation facility until the cubs were old enough to keep up with their mother when they were released. 
 
The cheetah mother and young cubs were transported to CCB’s rehabilitation enclosure at our Ghanzi cheetah camp and our field team set about keeping them safe and healthy. After some initial stress, they soon settled into their new environment and have been cared for diligently by our team. We are very proud to say that all three cubs and their mother have survived and are thriving. We would like to thank Dr Eric Verreynne for his veterinary support to ensure that these cats remained in the best possible health. Thanks to the generosity of the farmers in our area, we have been able to provide them with large portions of their natural game meat (various antelopes) so that the cubs can learn all the subtle intricacies of how to eat wild animals as they grow. We would like to particularly thank The Eaton family from Tholo Safaris for providing us game meat free of charge. 
 
We have consulted with other experts in cheetah rehabilitation and behaviour, including the team at Cheetah Conservation Fund in Namibia, and have concluded that the best time for release will be around February 2025, when the cubs will be around nine months of age. At this age the cubs will be big enough to keep up with their mother if she decides to spend a few days roaming before settling into their new home, but still young enough that they won’t miss out on too much of that hunting practice that is essential for their ongoing survival. We are currently undergoing an extensive feasibility study to assess the best possible suitable release sites for these cats to give them the best chance possible. The priority sites will be pitched to the DWNP and they will approve the final release site. We are very thankful to the many other researchers, conservationists and tourism operators that have provided us data on wildlife abundance and lion presence in the various potential release sites, including the Botswana-based team from WildCRU, Emily Bennitt from the University of Botswana and Ai Lin Mao from Kwando Safaris. We would also like to thank the team from &Beyond who have offered us support on the ground to monitor the cats post release if they are released in the concessions they are leasing. Once released, the cheetahs will be closely monitored by field teams for the first month after their release and the mother will be fitted with a satellite GPS tracking collar so we can keep an eye on her from the sky. 
 
It certainly has not been an easy undertaking and it has certainly been a team effort, but we are incredibly happy to have been able to help this cheetah mother and her cubs and give them a second chance at survival. With cheetah numbers dwindling across Africa, we know that saving these cheetahs is absolutely worth it. 

​CCB, in collaboration with Birdlife Botswana and the Department of Wildlife and National Parks (DWNP), continued its vital work in mitigating human-wildlife conflict around the village of New Xade. This pilot project was part of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP)’s Kgalagadi and Ghanzi Drylands Ecosystem Project (KGDEP), with CCB implementing innovative strategies at selected cattleposts around New Xade, where human-wildlife conflict posed significant challenges to local farmers.
 
The initiative began earlier this year with an introductory Kgotla (community meeting) session to build partnerships with pastoral farmers. Following this, CCB conducted an in-depth baseline survey, revealing that livestock depredation by carnivores was a widespread issue across all surveyed cattleposts. This did not surprise us, as these cattleposts farm livestock in open, unfenced areas not far from the famed (and unfenced) Central Kalahari Game Reserve, in areas rich with wildlife diversity, including large carnivores like lions, leopards, African wild dogs and cheetahs. 
 
Three cattlepost syndicates — Xlaibori, Thari ya Motsadi, and Tsogamaroko — were selected for the trial based on their high levels of reported depredation. Located near the Central Kalahari Game Reserve, these sites are crucial for testing new mitigation strategies.
Initiatives chosen for the pilot study included:

1. Horse Patrols: Two riders patrolled grazing areas in the evenings to round up cattle and return them to their kraals (livestock enclosures) before nightfall, minimizing their vulnerability to predators. A total of nine patrollers were hired by CCB to take part in this project. 
2. Supplementary Feeds: Salt licks were provided to encourage livestock to return to kraals early each evening before nocturnal carnivores start to hunt. The patrol horses also receive supplementary feeds to ensure they are well-nourished for their duties.
3. GPS Tagging Technology: Livestock movements were monitored using GPS tags, allowing farmers to receive alerts when cattle venture too far from their home kraals or crossed into protected areas.

 
Training workshops were conducted to equip patrollers with essential skills in animal behaviour, bush survival, tracking and conflict reporting. Each patroller was compensated, and contracts outline their responsibilities, fostering accountability and commitment.
 
Results from the pilot project have been very promising: farmers are now more proactive in managing their livestock, and there have been no reported depredation incidents at the Xlaibori and Tsogamaroko cattleposts since the patrols began. However, challenges remain, including instances of herders not being present to secure cattle and GPS tags being damaged from aggressive livestock behaviour.
 
Overall, the pilot project's successes suggest strong potential for ongoing human-wildlife conflict mitigation. Farmers are enthusiastic about the results thus far, and CCB has been able to secure funding from the Lion Recovery Network to sustain and expand these efforts, particularly in adjacent cattleposts which have been also suffering with high levels of human-lion conflict. 
 
As part of the KGDEP project, CCB was also engaged to develop a toolkit to help farmers reduce their livestock losses to carnivores, fostering human-wildlife coexistence. The 44-page toolkit is currently being printing for distribution to the farmers of the Ghanzi and Kgalagadi Districts by year-end. We are hopeful that these initiatives will help support the farmers in western Botswana to protect their livestock from predation, freeing them from the burden of human-wildlife conflict and helping secure these important wildlife corridors for cheetahs and other wildlife.