Red flag raised over decline of cheetah population in the Mara

The latest statistics on the National Wildlife Census released in 2021 indicate that Kenya has a population of 1,160 cheetahs. [Wilberforce Okwiri, Standard]

Masai Mara National Reserve has raised a red flag over the decline of its cheetah population.

In a notice released on October 11, Park Chief Warden Stephen Minis said the trend has been ongoing for some time. Tourism and habitat loss, he said, are to blame for the decline.

"Habitat loss and exertion of pressure through visitation, though it is a school of thought, are two factors that have been identified to be behind the cheetah's bottleneck within the game reserve," the notice read.

Due to the pressures within one of Kenya's biggest cheetah habitats, the park management put up a notice to close all the areas with young cubs of less than one month old to counter the challenges.

"Guide fraternities are therefore instructed not to trespass the area with the new cubs until further directives are given. Moreover, as the cheetah moves cubs from one point to another, signs indicating 'area closed' will be placed accordingly," the notice read.

According to Michael Kaelo, an official with the Mara Predator Project in Masai Mara, cheetah populations in the reserve have remained constant over time but survival rates of the cubs have been worrying.

"Cheetahs are very sensitive and their biggest plight is when tour vehicles overcrowd around a mother with young cubs. Often the overcrowding attracts predators like hyenas who take the advantage to trail and prey on the cubs, having known their location," Kaelo said.

He said the survival rates, especially in areas that are not regulated, are very low and sometimes only one or even none of the cubs makes it to maturity because of predation.

Tourist vehicles

Overcrowding by the tourist vehicles around cheetah territories also leaves the animals in stress, with the mothers opting to take care of the cubs and abandon hunting. The situation, Kaelo said, contributes to low survival rates as a result.

"The cub recruitment is low in areas that are often crowded, meaning, their survival rates are very low," he said.

The challenge is more pronounced within the reserve as compared to conservancies where the number of vehicles at a sighting is regulated.

According to the International Union for Conservation and Nature (IUCN), cheetahs are endangered and are globally declining, with an estimated 6,600 mature individuals mainly in eastern and southern Africa, amid fears that the fastest land mammal is racing towards extinction.

The latest statistics on the National Wildlife Census released in 2021 indicate that Kenya has a population of 1,160 cheetahs.

Cheetahs are now extinct in 20 countries and occupy only 17 per cent of their historic range. The remaining populations that are of global importance are found in South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Kenya and Tanzania.

Important populations of cheetahs are in Tsavo, Mara-Serengeti and Laikipia-Samburu ecosystems.