PREVIEW

An orphaned cheetah is returning to the wild after nearly three years - becoming the UmPhafa Nature Reserve’s first resident from her species.


The new female cheetah aptly named Ashia, after her donors, Ashia Cheetah Conservation, is now in a prepared bonding boma ahead of a full release onto the Reserve.

Back in April 2024, staff at Colchester Zoo announced that UmPhafa’s cheetah permit was approved after a two-year-long process and the Reserve was ready to start introducing the species.

Ashia was born at Phinda Private Game Reserve on 15th June 2022. Unfortunately, she was orphaned at a young age when her mother sadly passed away. Since then, she has been cared for by Ashia Cheetah Conservation, who have closely monitored her over the past couple of years. Now that she is old enough to hunt on her own, she is ready to be released.

For the next few weeks, Ashia will be staying in UmPhafa’s boma in order to get accustomed to her new home, before being released on to the Reserve. Since arriving, she has been very calm and was quick to settle down with her first meal of Impala.

Amanda Warren, Reserve Manager at UmPhafa Nature Reserve said: “It was a real feeling of achievement and excitement after 3 years of hard work to have the opportunity to finally release our first cheetah on to UmPhafa. It was an incredibly fulfilling moment as I watched her explore her new home.”


The team at UmPhafa Nature Reserve are very excited to be able to release her onto the Reserve in the next few weeks and will continue to monitor her progress as she explores her new home. Then in a few months time, she will be joined by two male cheetahs.