The whole saga began on the Greater Makalali Nature Reserve (GMNR) in early December 2022. A group of volunteer monitoring teams (Siyafunda Conservation and Askari) reported that they had witnessed a cheetah that was losing condition, and was not able to hunt and run down his prey – even young warthogs. He didn’t seem to have the pace.
A vet, Dr Chris (Bossie) Boshoff, was called in by the Warden of the reserve, Antony Collet. The cheetah (Tintswalo by name) was located and darted, and some bite wounds were found on a hind leg that were subsequently treated. After treatment he was released. He was then seen again, sometime later, and it was reported that he was losing condition. The conclusion was that there was clearly more damage that had been done, beyond the bites that had been treated.
The cheetah was darted again and on examination it was found that there was something ‘loose’ in the heel of his one leg. Boshoff immediately put the leg in a temporary fibreglass light weight cast. The cheetah was then put into a safe boma for observation. He was in the cast for almost a month. It was during this period of the cheetah having the cast, that Boshoff started corresponding with a surgeon at Onderstepoort. He suggested that x-rays be taken to ascertain exactly what the problem was.
The cast was then removed, and Jana Meyer of Hope for Wildlife helicopter services was commissioned to fly Tintswalo to the Maroela Animal Clinic in Hoedspruit, so that the necessary x-rays could be done and sent to the specialist at Onderstepoort Veterinary Hospital, outside Tswane (Pretoria).
On examination it appeared that at the heel of the right hind leg, the calcaneus (like a kneecap), was fractured. On detailed analysis of the x-rays, and after deliberation, the veterinarians at the faculty of Veterinary Science at the University of Pretoria, saw a way forward to bring the cheetah back to full health.
The cheetah had to get specialised help
It was suggested (and then approved), that two custom-made plates with the relevant pins be measured from the x-rays and designed, to be inserted and fixed into the “heel” of the cheetah to secure the calcaneus. It must be reiterated that under ‘normal’ circumstances this type of human intervention in the wild would not take place, but because the cheetah was of the ‘home stock genetic pool’, the intervention was deemed appropriate. This process took about 10 days.
The day finally dawned – mention must be made of the scheduling that had to take place around loadshedding, not only for the x-rays to take place, but for the procedure as well!
The cheetah now had to be transported to Tswane for the operation and then transported back to the reserve for rehabilitation – a 90-minute flight either way. Thankfully help was on hand and Tintswalo was flown by helicopter to receive his treatment.
On Tuesday 7th February, at the University of Pretoria faculty of Veterinary Science, and in what is believed to be a world first, two custom-made plates and pins were successfully inserted into the back leg of the cheetah, in an operation that lasted an hour.
Once completed, the healing process had to begin. Tintswalo was flown back to the reserve and put into a “boma”. It was good to see Tinstwalo back, and safely in the one hectare enclosed and protected area within the reserve. Dr Boshoff will be checking on him at regular intervals to monitor the progress and condition of the cheetah, together with the assistance of the warden of the GMNR, Antony Collett.
A world first and time for rehabilitation
To everyone’s knowledge, this is the first time this type of surgery has been performed on a cheetah, so the success of this procedure is not guaranteed. The recovery and re-conditioning of the animal is critical in giving him the best chance of a full recovery going forward. Specialist vet surgeon Dr Ross Elliot, is optimistic and hopeful, and the prognosis seems to be positive at this stage. “If you don’t try, we’ll never know”, he said.
Tintswalo was born in June 2014, in the wild and on the reserve. Now over eight years old, the fact that he is still around, is nothing short of amazing. Lions are the kings here, and for him to have survived this long, speaks loads for his ‘lion savvy’ and knowledge of the area. Makalali is home to six of Africa’s large carnivores, and this has been his hunting ground from birth.
His late mother Kusala (meaning ‘skillful’) was killed by lions after having raised two cubs, one being Tintswalo. Sadly, his sibling was never seen again.
As Makalali is part of The Cheetah Metapopulation Management Project, coordinated by the Endangered Wildlife Trust, the next step is to locate a female. Then in a separate, lion-free area of the reserve, the aim is to release the two together and hope the two will pair up, and produce cubs that will obviously be raised on the reserve.
The logistical support surpassed all expectations
This whole logistical and medical operation would not have been possible, save for the overwhelming outpouring of support, time, and donations from a very special group of people and organisations. Firstly, Blume Exklusiv, who started the fundraiser under Rhino Revolution Europe.
Special mention to Dr Boshoff, who alerted the reserve to the situation and who donated his time and expertise to the project, and coordinated all the logistics.
Without Pieter Vorster from Mahela, the whole project would not have taken shape. Mahela forms part of BJ Vorster Citrus, and it was them that flew the cheetah to Onderstepoort, and back to the reserve after the operation.
Recognition must be given to Antony Collett and Richard Sachse (monitoring) from Makalali, for all their daily time and effort in looking after the cheetah in the boma, ensuring his safety and wellbeing.
For sure there were others involved, some with knowledge and insights that were imparted across the group, and this helped immensely in the overall success of the project. This will all certainly help in any future endeavours of this kind that must go down as a world first!
The GMNR is just outside Gravelotte in the Limpopo Province of South Africa. It nestles in the triangle between Hoedspruit, Phalaborwa, and Tzaneen, and overlooks the northern Drakensburg mountains. Thankfully likeminded people got involved the early 1990’s in purchasing and attempting to bring back this wonderful area of bush, to its natural form and beauty. This, after the decimation of wildlife from hunting in the mining ‘rush’, the 1940’s DDT spaying, attempts at cattle farming, overgrazing and poor land management. A reserve was finally created to promote the conservation of the land and wildlife within its boundaries.
The history of a reserve created
The first properties making up the reserve (originally 6 000 ha) were purchased in 1994, and the reserve has subsequently expanded to its current size of 25 000 ha. Fences have been removed to create a wonderful conservancy allowing the game to traverse the entire extent of the reserve.
Today it’s another story – good wildlife management, reintroduction of animals and development and monitoring programs, have all contributed to the resurgence of this reserve as one of the better maintained and managed reserves in the area. In fact this area has been pronounced as a protected nature reserve with national status.
The reserve is now home to the Big 5, with previously extirpated species including lion, elephant, rhino, hippo, cheetah, hyena, and disease-free buffalo, being reintroduced. Leopard, brown hyena, and the smaller mammal species, as well as the endangered ground hornbill, and the many threatened and endangered vulture and raptor species, are present on the reserve.
Listening to this whole adventure, I was struck and amazed at the total dedication and concern of all involved. It is quite amazing that so many people give of their precious time and efforts in giving to the preservation of our wildlife for us, and the generations to come.
Currently, Tintswalo is doing well, but there is a long time to go before he is released into the wild proper.
