Our work in South Africa started in 1995 with our first reintroduction of eastern black rhino. We then became the first charity to send a brown hyena born in the UK back to Africa. In more recent years we have rescued elephants, giraffes and antelopes and have achieved another world first in conservation for sending a pair of UK born cheetah back to the wild.

The Aspinall Foundation has achieved ground-breaking results in their cheetah rewilding project in South Africa. Saba and Nairo, who were both born in captivity at Howletts Wild Animal Park in the United Kingdom, were translocated to South Africa in February 2020 to start their rewilding journey. The pair adapted to their new life perfectly, quickly mastering hunting and learning to effortlessly take down prey with a cheetah's trademark grace and speed.

In 2021, we rewilded two more cheetahs in collaboration with Canada's Parc Safari. Kumbe & Jabari flew more than 7,000 miles from Toronto Airport to Zimbabwe, where they quickly settled into life at their new home at Imire Rhino and Wildlife Conservation. Just like Saba & Nairo before them, Kumbe and Jabari's rapid adaptation to life in the wild has clearly demonstrated that captive-born cheetahs can be rewilded.

Timeline of our work in Southern Africa