Return of the Cheetah, a Discovery Channel documentary, premieres on 4 December 2024 to coincide with International Cheetah Day. The film will highlight critical efforts to save cheetahs in the wild, airing throughout Africa, the Middle East, Southeast Asia and Latin America. The footage covers renowned biologist and conservationist Hazen Audel’s meeting with Dr Laurie Marker and her team at the Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF) in Namibia. It showcases the CCF’s innovative conservation strategies to fight habitat loss, human-wildlife conflict and illegal wildlife trade. Community education is part of this. Viewers can look forward to emotive stories of rehabilitation and release of wild cheetahs, celebrating the CCF’s progress while reinforcing the amount of work still to be done.
Founded in 1990, the CCF is a global cheetah research and conservation leader. Headquartered in Namibia with a field base in Somaliland, notable programmes include the Livestock Guarding Dog initiative, which helps farmers protect their livestock from predators, and large-scale habitat restoration efforts that have revitalised thousands of acres. Learn more or get involved at www.cheetah.org.
As apex predators, cheetahs play a vital role in maintaining ecosystems. “Protecting cheetahs safeguards biodiversity, strengthens rangelands, and promotes sustainable human development. International Cheetah Day is not just a celebration of cheetahs but a call to the world to join us in this fight,” says Laurie.
She established International Cheetah Day to honour Khayam, a cheetah she raised in the 1970s while involved in pioneering research into rewilding captive-born cheetahs. CCF’s mission has grown globally, tackling habitat loss and climate change challenges. To learn more about International Cheetah Day events and resources, visit www.internationalcheetahday.com.
