A Note on the Reestablishment of the Cheetah Population in the Pilanesberg National Park, South Africa

INTRODUCTION The establishment of protected areas is recognized as a means to conserve large mammal species (Craigie et al., 2010), and cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) conservation is well served by these protected areas (Marnewick, 2015). In South Africa, if not in one of the larger national parks (>10 000 km) or free-roaming in the northern provinces (Marnewick et al., 2007), populations of cheetahs occur in medium-sized reserves and form part of a managed metapopulation where periodic transfers of individuals occur between them to retain genetic integrity (Buk, Van der Merwe, Marnewick, & Funston, 2018). The Pilanesberg National Park (hereafter Pilanesberg) is one such reserve within the managed metapopulation. Here, we firstly document the reproductive success of a single reintroduced female cheetah and, secondly, discuss the population’s recovery in the context of the managed metapopulation.