Cheetah are managed as four different populations in South Africa: the captive population, the reserve population in private fenced game reserves, the free-ranging populations of the semi-protected Kruger and Kgalagadi National Park, and lastly, the free-roaming population surviving on private and commercial farmlands and property along the border with Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe.
The first free-roaming cheetah population estimates in South Africa date as far back as 2002 and were substantiated by opinion with little baseline data to support them. These estimates have not varied much over the past 23 years. But with a 76% decline in the average size of African wildlife populations between 1970 and 2024 (WWF – Living Planet Report), these numbers are clearly outdated and show the need of a precise census across the free-roaming cheetah range.
Due to statements in national policy documents such as “no reliable estimates for the wild population is available”, Ashia Cheetah Conservation developed, coordinated and funded the first Free-Roaming Cheetah Census (or FRCC). Starting in 2022, the census was initiated in collaboration with Cheetah Outreach Trust and the universities of Groningen (Netherlands) and Stellenbosch (SA).
Spanning across approximately 95 000km2 of free-roaming cheetah range in South Africa, the census is a multi-year project (2022-2025/2026) to understand the reality of wild cheetah distribution, population numbers and human-predator conflict that fall within their range.
During the fieldwork period of the census, several teams are:
