Inside the wild mission involving 5 cheetahs and 94 drone flights

Finding a cheetah in the thick bush is a hard task. But finding the right cheetah, at the right age, in the right conditions and then getting close enough to safely fit it with a tracking collar is next level difficult.

For eight days in late July, conservation teams turned Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park in KwaZulu-Natal into a high-tech tracking operation, using ground teams, drones, a fixed-wing aircraft and a helicopter to locate five of the park’s elusive big cats.

In the end five cheetahs were successfully fitted with collars, three of them for the first time.

The operation, led by Wildlife ACT and Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife with support from conservation partners, now brings the number of cheetahs collared in the park since the end of 2025 to eight.

The cheetah collaring was not a simple mission. The drone supplied by the WildSky Foundation clocked up 94 flights and more than 30 hours in the air, helping teams navigate the park’s dense and varied terrain in their search for suitable animals.

One adult female proved particularly slippery. Teams spent several days trying to locate her, repeatedly using the drone to find her again before the opportunity finally arose to dart her safely and fit her with a collar.

“It’s always a privilege to work with cheetah,” said Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife vet Dr Jennifer Lawrence, speaking about the species that is notoriously difficult to work with.

“They are challenging to dart and collar as they are very sensitive to the drugs and overheating is a big risk,” Lawrence said.

Timing is also important as weather, terrain, the animal’s age and its circumstances all have to be considered before a dart is fired.

Mothers with young cubs are left alone, because even a short separation can put the babies at risk. Young animals may also be too small for a collar, while conditions on a particular day can mean an otherwise suitable cheetah is simply left untouched.

One male that was recollared was treated for a minor injury while sedated before waking successfully and returning to his coalition.

The collars themselves are high-tech, combining GPS tracking with VHF technology, allowing conservationists to monitor where animals move across the park and to find them on the ground when dense bush or rugged terrain makes visual tracking difficult.

The information gathered is used to help researchers understand how individual cheetahs use the landscape, track changes in the population and identify animals that could eventually be candidates for relocation.

This is important because Hluhluwe-iMfolozi’s cheetah population has grown substantially over the past decade and has become an important part of South Africa’s wider cheetah population.

But a growing population does not automatically secure the cheetahs’ future. Genetic diversity is a major concern as populations can become vulnerable when the gene pool becomes too limited.

Genetic samples were collected from the newly collared big cats to help assess the health of the park’s population and inform future conservation decisions.

“Every collar we fit gives our teams and partners a clearer picture of how these cheetah are using the landscape and how the population is changing over time,” said Wildlife ACT’s Wild Dog and Cheetah Conservation Programme manager Chris du Toit.

Fewer than 7,500 cheetahs are estimated to remain in the wild, with less than 1,000 in South Africa. The species is classified as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, with populations continuing to decline across much of its historic range.

The challenge for Hluhluwe-iMfolozi is to now turn population growth into one that is genetically strong.

“It’s encouraging to see this population grow,” said Du Toit. “The priority now is making sure this growth translates into long-term genetic strength.”

The July operation brought together Wildlife ACT, Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife, African Wildlife Vets, Forever Wild Foundation, WildSky Foundation and Ford Wildlife Foundation, with each contributing expertise, equipment or logistical support.

Success is measured in terms of getting the collars on the right animals without putting them at risk.