Since our radio-tracking research began over six years ago, we have had over 45 cheetahs collared. We collar only one animal in a group. For instance male cheetah brothers live together their entire lives forming what is known as a coalition, and cubs stay with their mothers until they are 18 to 20 months of age. We track the collared cheetahs once a week by airplane. Female home ranges average 800m 2 and males over 400m 2.
Males avoid each other in their use of overlapping ranges.
By monitoring the movements of the cats, we are beginning to identify certain regions where they are more prone to travel, and what times of the month or year they frequent specific areas. Many farmers accept losing one or two calves a year, while others find any loss an economic hardship. We have worked actively with the farming community to develop guidelines for reducing cheetah problems on farmlands by including integrated management techniques and strategies for predator control and overall farm management. Through extensive community work, most of Namibia is now aware that there are alternatives to livestock loss to predators. In addition to livestock management we actively promote the use of an electric fence around game farms deterring cheetahs from entering the game farm.