Cheetah Conservation Botswana

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CHEETAH CONSERVATION BOTSWANA aims to preserve the nation's cheetah population through scientific research, community outreach and education, working with rural communities to promote coexistence with Botswana's rich diversity of predator species.

05/06/2026

This World Environment Day, the theme: “Inspired by Nature. For Climate. For Our Future” urges us to be cognizant of the fact that healthy ecosystems are one of our strongest defences against climate change. Here in Botswana, rising temperatures, loss of habitats, droughts, and changing rainfall patterns are increasingly putting pressure on farmers, wildlife, and fragile ecosystems. Worldwide, we’ve noted that as habitats get more fragmented – be it the Pacific Northwest or Western and Central Europe – connected ecosystems are becoming increasingly important for wildlife survival and climate resilience.

The environment is more that wild forests that absorb carbon, and wetlands that reduce the impact of floods and storms – it is everywhere the wind blows, from the highest mountain to the quietest footpath. This understanding is why our various programmes teach people of different ages how to value their surroundings, and realise that supporting human-wildlife coexistence has many faces. These are simple messages to convey, but it takes collective work to move them from thoughts to living practices.

The challenges facing our planet can feel overwhelming, but there is hope in collective action. Across Botswana and around the world, people are proving that a more sustainable future is possible, and that we can build solutions that benefit both people and wildlife. Happy World Environment Day!

01/06/2026

Environmental education remains a vital component of CCB’s holistic approach to conservation. Despite a lack of electricity at the school, 99 Standard 5, 6, and 7 students at Bere Primary School got to engage with our Communities for Conservation (C4C) - Development Intern, Goitseone Samson, as she delivered an environmental education talk with support from Tshepho Bakani, Farming for Conservation Officer, and PhD scholar, Otshabile Bahetoleng. The trio covered topics ranging from coexistence techniques to the human element of conservation and applications of scientific research in real life.

Following interactive discussions, the students got to play the “Win-Win Game” – a firm favourite that has them embody practical ways in which farmers, livestock, and cheetahs can coexist with one another using non-lethal deterrents such as Livestock Guarding Dogs alongside diligent herding. “One of the most encouraging parts of the talk was seeing how eager the students were to learn and participate”, said Samson, continuing: “as we know, students who learn the importance of conservation early can be vessels for safeguarding Botswana’s biodiversity”.

With school talks being a fundamental part of our C4C programming, it is quite encouraging to have different departmental representatives join in whenever possible. With each child reached, we hope that we plant seeds that show them how they too can become ambassadors for conservation in their communities and beyond.

27/05/2026

Dear coffee drinkers, did you enjoy your dose today? Did you know that 75% of food crops require pollination, including coffee – whose primary agents are bees? But it’s not just them. Fibres like cotton and flax… pollinated. Agricultural feed like clover and alfalfa… pollinated. This means pollination affects more than just what we eat.

Nearly 2,000 species of birds are essential partners in this global system. These include honeycreepers, some parrots, honeyeaters, and sunbirds. When a hungry bird dives deep into a tubular flower for a sip of nectar, pollen rubs onto its body (bill, head, back, breast) and sticks. When they fly from flower to flower, that pollen is transferred. Birds have a poor sense of smell; thus, many bird-pollinated flowers have evolved to display bold, bright colours to be noticed even without producing scents. Larger bird-pollinated flowers even have sturdy stems to support a perched bird’s weight.

In tropical areas where birds are abundant, bird pollination is especially common. However, ironically enough, in environments like deserts or high-altitude regions where insects are scarce, birds are also vital pollinators. 85-90% of flowering plants need pollinators to reproduce. Birds sustain the shrubs, trees, and wildflowers that create healthy habitats for cheetah prey like springbok and impala.

Sadly, 16.5% of bird and mammal pollinators are now threatened with extinction. Without pollinators, plant life faces a dark future. Having no plants means no natural prey, and no prey means heightened conflict risk for carnivores like cheetahs. When we talk about promoting coexistence, we mean at all levels – from our breakfast stations to the expanses of the wild.

25/05/2026

Behind every strong kraal is a farmer who has put in the work to figure a number of things out. Our Farming for Conservation (FFC) team actively works with two farmer networks – namely, the Ghanzi Farmers Network and Southern Livestock Farmers Network (SOLIFANE) – in an effort to make this process of figuring things out less isolated. Understanding that true empowerment means participants find themselves enriched to the point of independence, a handful of farmers from these groups have been identified as ‘model farmers’ and have stepped up to share the responsibility of educational stewardship.

The model farmers are people who have implemented carnivore-friendly farm management techniques that have greatly reduced wildlife-related conflict and improved the sustainability of their farming enterprises. Among some of the techniques FFC promotes, model farmers use livestock guarding dogs (LGDs), have built predator-proof kraals, and practice husbandry methods that minimise conflict. Their farms serve as demonstration sites for other members of the community to learn about the different ways one can coexist with wildlife. Through the model farmer initiative, we hope to see more farmers grow healthier and stronger herds by using non-lethal deterrents, staying on top of healthcare, keeping good records, and practicing eco-friendly farming.

The task of making sure that living in wildlife-rich areas isn’t seen as a sentence to living in perpetual conflict needs as many active hands and minds as are available. We are grateful to be part of a localised ecosystem that believes that coexistence isn’t just a dream but an attainable reality.

22/05/2026

Some Fridays are for flashbacks. Today, we'd like to draw your attention to a proactive initiative we undertook in 2024 as we celebrated our 20th anniversary as an organisation. As May temperatures dropped nationwide, we dared to invite media practitioners to join us in the temperamentally cold-hot-cold Ghanzi District for a Media Bush Camp. Thankfully, they agreed.

This bush camp was customised for our guests, but still based on our tried and tested educational programme and visitor engagements. Understanding that our institutional voice can only ever go as far as it is amplified, we brought active and interested media practitioners together to share their experiences of broaching conservation and environmental stories in the newsroom. On our end, we provided them with an opportunity to experience the spaces and lives that may not seem 'newsworthy' on paper, but are definitely worth paying attention to. They got to learn about our non-intrusive research methods and our farmer-focused initiatives, engage with artisans, and play some conservation-focused games.

This mutual learning platform was our way of investing in local conservation storytelling, and we really appreciate the participants' willingness to brave the desert winter and leave the comforts of the city to walk a few steps in our shoes. We need every voice to share a resounding call for action for cheetah conservation.

20/05/2026

We’ve all heard the buzz about bees: they pollinate plants, produce honey, and have an uncanny talent for finding your picnic. But there is so much more to these tiny creatures. Over 20,000 bee species exist worldwide, from bumblebees to stingless bees and those found here in Africa, Western honeybees. Today is World Bee Day and this year’s theme is “Bee Together for People and the Planet – A partnership that sustains us all”.

Bees, together with other wild pollinators, maintain biodiversity, improve food production by assisting landscape regeneration, and play a role in keeping people and the planet healthy. For thousands of years, bees and humans have shared a close connection across diverse cultures and landscapes. Beekeeping dates back 4,500 years and can be done with limited resources and materials available locally. Because of this, it offers young people, women, and people living in poverty an opportunity to make a living while promoting coexistence with these vital pollinators.

Due to their importance, a decline in bee populations anywhere could have devastating consequences for every creature dependent on the plants they pollinate. You do not have to be a beekeeper to protect them; your action can be as simple as buying locally-produced bee products, or planting pollinator-friendly flowers. Essentially, protecting bees means protecting the planet.

We’ve prepared a fun word search to get your mind buzzing. You can download an HD version on the Educational Resources page of our website. Happy World Bee Day!

18/05/2026

A habitat is a place where any living thing can find food, water, raise a family, and stay safe. Have you ever wondered what a cheetah looks for when house hunting for its habitat? For our spotted friends, open savannahs, grasslands, bushlands, and hot deserts have the characteristics of a perfect home because cheetahs rely on good crouching spots, clear sightlines, and speed to stalk, chase and catch their prey. As such, the fewer the obstacles the better.

However, breadth is not enough if you can’t live freely. Large, connected landscapes serve cheetahs better than crowded neighbourhoods where they can be outcompeted or threatened. In fact, they need around 10,000 kilometres of connected landscape to live fruitful lives – including finding mates and raising cubs safely. When lions and hyenas live too close by, cheetahs can lose kills – therefore risking parent and cub survival.

These combined sensitivities to space, habitat fragmentation, and competition with larger carnivores, make cheetahs a great keystone species as a healthy cheetah population signals a functional, connected, and balanced ecosystem. This is just one of the ways that landscape management and wildlife ecology connect to birth clear conservation goals. The more we know, the better we can be at responding adequately.

15/05/2026

Seasonal changes are afoot. As the northern hemisphere welcomes warmth, we dwellers of the southern hemisphere lament its departure with winter chills setting in. Needless to say, both changes make space for us to connect; and there is something special about gathering around a game board. What may start as friendly competition laced with laughter may intensify as the thrill of a lucky roll favours some more than others. This is when play meets purpose and magic happens.

Our Snakes & Ladders game allows you to bring that feeling home with a twist – it is stylised around cheetah ecology and CCB’s programmatic work. While playing, you may find yourself pausing to let cheetahs cross, gaining a move because of a productive livestock guarding dog, or waiting to tend to a hurt paw. It’s not only great for conversation, but bucket-loads of fun.

The game is free to download and print on our website. It is perfect for groups of all ages, be it a quiet afternoon or a buzzing evening. You’ve got no excuse for not getting your hands on a copy today. Play is a powerful educational tool; have fun!

13/05/2026

We are celebrating pollinators this month, and this week we are zooming in on the most important and common mammal pollinators on Earth – bats. More than 500 flowering plant species rely on bats for pollination – including favourites like avocados, figs, guavas, bananas, and the two “king of fruits” contenders: mangoes and durians. ‘Chiropterophily’ is the name of the process that balances bats’ nocturnal nature and the traits of plants they pollinate.

Bat-pollinated flowers are often large, light-coloured or white for visibility at night, concave, or tube-shaped. Some bats have evolved long tongues to reach nectar located deep within flowers, while others use echolocation (sound reflection) to find flowers. There are plants that have evolved bell shaped flowers to assist this feature in dense rainforests. While to humans it may be unpleasant, the musty or rotten perfume some flowers produce is to attract bats through their keen sense of smell.

Bats are effective pollinators because they carry much larger amounts of pollen than smaller creatures. An added bonus is that they can fly anywhere between 800 metres to 18 kilometres in a single night; meaning they can reach more plants. Essentially, bats pollinate many ecologically and economically important plants. We would suffer without them. So, the next time you enjoy a banana or a mango, thank a bat.

10/05/2026

There's a beautiful thing that happens when one is gifted a mother. Whether it's the one who brings you into the world or one who dedicates their time to being there for you, a mother sees you in the darkness, hears you in the storm, and builds in you the power to fend off your doubts and fears. We see this in the wild as we see it in human communities the world over.

To all the mothers who give without end, who guide with wisdom, and those who guard with unwavering fierceness, the CCB team would like to let you know that we appreciate you! The next generations need each one of us to do our part in making their futures possible, and mothers are at the forefront of this grand pursuit. Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers out there!

Address

Office B5, Kgale Siding Office Park
Gaborone
PRIVATEBAGBO284,BONTLENG

Website

http://www.cheetahconservationbotswana.org/

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