Cheetah Safaris in Namibia
Namibia is THE place to see cheetah, with the largest population of free-roaming cheetah in the world. When talking about cheetah experiences, its crucial that we focus on places where the wellbeing of the cheetah is priority, and where visitor experiences support the ongoing efforts to grow the cheetah population within Namibia’s wilderness. As such, we will talk about why Etosha National Park and the Cheetah Conservation Fund Research Centre are two key sites to see cheetah.
Etosha National Park- from the eastern entrance
There are many cheetah within the protected area of the Etosha National Park and it’s reasonably common to spot them, particularly in the open plains. To increase your chances, we recommend going between May and October and the optimum time to see them is early in the morning or late in the afternoon, when it’s cooler and they come out from the shaded bush. The eastern side of Etosha is the best place to look for them. You can stay at Onguma, which overlooks fisher’s pan —a famous location for sitings.
CCF Cheetah Research Centre and Eco Lodge
The Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF) have their own 2000sq. km un-fenced reserve. Within the grounds of this reserve is their cheetah clinique, a research and education centre, and a simple but lovely ecolodge. It’s near Otjiwarongo, beside the red sandstone plateau of waterberg, so the views are incredible. And it’s only a 3-4 hour drive from both Etosha and Windhoek, a short distance by Namibian standards!
Visitors are able to enjoy up-close encounters with the cheetahs by joining in with feeding time and watching the cheetahs on their morning run. It’s an important part of their rehabilitation, because the world’s fastest land animal must build up strength and speed before they can be given a full bill of health and released into the wild. It’s a special experience to meet the staff and volunteers who are caring so wonderfully for these wild cats.
Conservation Efforts and Cheetah Experiences – A history
The healthy number of cheetahs now living in Namibia is due to a variety of long-term conservation initiatives. This has taken a multi-layered approach. Firstly, the habitat must be protected, such as in places like Mount Etjo, where the eco-system has been rejuvenated. Secondarily, the farmers need to be able to protect their stock whilst sharing a landscape with the cheetahs, using dogs to guard their flock instead of setting traps. And rescued animals need to be rehabilitated and returned to the wild so that they can breed.
For many years, the Africat Foundation, at Okonjima Nature Reserve, played a key roll in rehabilitating cheetah, and visitors could enjoy cheetah safaris within the reserve. After more than 30 years of working alongside the farming population to understand and protect this wild cat, they decided to hand the baton to the rural community and have now turned their attention to leopard, brown hyena, rhino, and pangolin, among others. They have done a lot to help the cheetah population but no longer have cheetahs on the reserve, because their thriving leopard and hyena population would be too much of a threat to the cheetah
The Cheetah Conservation Fund is a non-profit organisation and they are doing some great work. Sadly, cheetah cubs are still stolen and sold into the illegal animal trade. Those that are lucky enough to be rescued will come here to be nurtured back to health, as are cheetahs that are found injured, orphaned, or caught in traps. The best experience will always be to see cheetah in their natural habitat, like at Etosha, but seeing rescued cheetah up close is also very rewarding.
How to I book a cheetah experience in Namibia?
If you are booking your holiday to Namibia with us, we can include all of your favourite wildlife experiences within your holiday package. We can offer advice on the best experiences and will make all of the arrangements for you. If you would like to know a little bit more about the cheetah experiences, do feel free to call us or request a call back.
