There is little doubt that the introduction of wildlife tracking collars has contributed enormously to the ecological understanding of many species. GPS transmitters on collars allow for remote detection of an animal, and VHF (very high frequency) allows for on the ground detection. Both prove extremely useful for wildlife studies such as behavior, demographics, home ranges, and better understanding human-wildlife conflict.
With the Free-Roaming Cheetah Census (FRCC), whenever the need arises and a cheetah can be caught and moved for its own safety, Ashia Cheetah Conservation fits the cheetah with a tracking collar to provide more insight and understanding of the free-roamers.
The collaring of any animal is never a decision that is taken lightly, and is always done to preserve their welfare. Regulations stipulate the weight of the collar to be no more than 5% of the animal’s body weight (the collars used by Ashia are within 1-2% of the body weight).
Most of our knowledge of cheetah movement and other behavior comes from fenced reserves, so we have very little understanding of how large the free-roaming cheetah home ranges are, whether movement is different between the sexes, and how mothers select denning sites. Such baseline knowledge of cheetah behavior is critical to understanding not only their ecology but also how, why, and where they come into conflict with landowners.
Knowing where these cheetahs are and how they traverse the human-dominated landscape allows us to use and share information obtained through collar data. This sharing of information allows us to work together to create innovative solutions that foster understanding and tolerance, and resolve human-wildlife conflict to secure livelihood and coexistence with these truly “wild” cheetah.