Tsavo Cheetah Project

01/08/2026

On Monday I received the devastating news that one of the prime, adult female cheetahs in Tsavo East had been killed by lions at a popular location for both species. The tragedy occurred at 7am, when the lions who had not quite retreated for the day noticed the female, alone, likely scanning for prey near in the cool morning hour, surrounded by bush. Sadly, she was ambushed in a thick bush, with no change to escape the larger and more powerful lions. Had she been in the open grassland, she could have outrun them, given speed is the cheetah’s primary survival advantage.
I personally could not watch the entire video, as its disturbing when you cannot do anything to save them after the fact. We also do not have thorough evidence on the tourists’ vehicle situation at the time, and if this potentially impacted her ability to escape. There also may be controversy over the lack of attempted human intervention, perhaps by hooting / honking or driving towards the lions to (safely) drive them away from her. We would have intervened to our best ability, if present. Female cheetahs are vitally important to the genetic health and continuity of the species in Tsavo, and they already face tremendous threats outside of the parks.
Although it is rarer for lions to kill adult cheetahs when compared to cubs, it’s believed that they do so as an expression of dominance—to reduce competition of shared prey species. This is known as intraguild competition, among larger carnivores. The project, among others has continuously documented both felids in relative proximity to one another in Tsavo East, and at varying times of the day or night, but such a tragic incident is uncommon. Nevertheless, we will miss seeing her and all the cubs that she would have contributed to the park and Tsavo ecosystem in years to come. Cheetahs are endangered in Kenya and every individual matters. 🐆🙏 💔

20/07/2026

It’s always nice to get days in Tsavo East Natronal Park, our initial primary study area upon project inception in 2012, and the inspiration behind the start-up. Here, cheetahs are protected, at least, from most human induced threats. On-ground human activities are rare, motorbikes are not permitted, and Kenyan Wildlife Service rangers patrol the park. We intend to spend more time monitoring the park’s cheetah by 2027. There's just so much immediate need outside the protected areas, for the conservation of the cheetah, which is endangered in Kenya.

These burr-laden (commonly seen also on cheetahs in our camera trap images) youngsters and their dedicated mother offer and glimmer of hope for the species in the Tsavo Conservation Area (TCA). They are also a prime example of how Tsavo cheetahs appear to co-exist more successfully with larger competing predators such as lions and hyenas. From all my years inside Tsavo East, I have continued to document both felidae species, and even the leopard, in close vicinity with one another; by spoor and direct sightings. More focused research is warranted, but as with some southern African and additional regions of Africa, Tsavo cheetahs appear to raise more cubs to adulthood than in some smaller and / or more open-habitat study areas in East Africa.

16/07/2026

This singleton male is regularly seen in this conservancy location of the Kasigau Wildlife Corridor. Unfortunately, we have also captured images of poachers in this location. The challenges for the species and other wildlife in Tsavo's unprotected areas are profound. Therefore, it's uplifting when we continue to see an individual in our images and videos.

09/07/2026

Our camera trapping entails a lot of bushwalking to get to camera stations. Of course, we always have a ranger with us, but you can begin to feel a bit too comfortable, especially when focussing on the cameras. While I knew that lions can still be somewhat active during the day, I had not expected to see one so close to a camera trap in mid-afternoon hours. We'll have to drive in a bit further with this unit!

07/07/2026

This is one cheetah in one camera station, but seems to be the norm in most stations. You have to wonder what they are thinking... They appear curious about the camera and perhaps associate it with a sense of safety.

06/07/2026

A sad day. Once again, only the wildlife lose.

01/07/2026

The project has not posted for a while, primarily since camera images can reveal locations of both cheetahs and the units. This data, and it's confidentiality, is critical for completing our current research. However, these guys and their routine tactics near the cameras, provide a certain level of discretion!

05/06/2026

16/05/2026

May 15th is Endangered Species Day.
In Kenya, the cheetah is listed as Endangered under the Wildlife Conservation and Management Act 2013. TCP is working to protect wild cheetahs across the Tsavo ecosystem. Like many of Kenya's other wild felid species, cheetahs are threatened by habitat loss, fragmentation, and indiscriminate / bushmeat poaching. Human development continues to convert open space and impede connectivity necessary for wild cats to survive. Cheetahs and other wild cat species need our help to persist.