Dr Lovemore Sibanda (BSA)

Dr Lovemore Sibanda sets up Cheetah
Conservation Project in Zimbabwe (CCPZ)

image3
Dr Lovemore Sibanda, WildCRU Oxford University, 2020.

Dr Lovemore Sibanda is a Beit Trust – WildCRU Scholar.  In 2016 he received the Beit Scholarship award to read for a Master’s by Research at Oxford University, which he did well and upgraded to a doctorate in 2017. After finishing his studies, Dr Sibanda returned to Zimbabwe to set up the Cheetah Conservation Project Zimbabwe (CCPZ), a local NGO dedicated to the conservation and research of cheetahs in Zimbabwe. The aim of CCPZ to conserve cheetahs through research, community engagement, collaboration, and capacity building.  In 2024, Dr Sibanda received further support from the Beit Trust to carry-out a national survey for cheetahs in close collaboration with the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority.  This work will inform cheetah conservation nationally and regionally.

His detailed report below demonstrates his commitment and authority on the subject, and further updates on this important project will follow.

Where have all the cheetahs gone? Strengthening Scientific Evidence and Capacity for Effective Cheetah Conservation in Zimbabwe

Figure 1: Cheetah ID HNP046 and her two offspring taken in Hwange National Park in July 2024

Cheetahs are known worldwide as the fastest animals on earth, but few people realise the trouble they are in. Cheetahs have disappeared from much of their natural habitat and are now found only in a few countries in Africa and Asia. 

While Zimbabwe is one of the few African countries still home to cheetahs, the situation is dire. The cheetah population has plummeted by over 90% since the 1990s, with the 2015 census revealing a mere 150 to 170 individuals remaining in the entire country.

The number drop is due to natural causes (e.g., climate change and competition with other predators) and human-related causes (e.g., people increasingly clearing pristine cheetah habitats to build homes and grow crops).

However, there is still hope to save the cheetah, but the best solutions need to be backed by science.  To save cheetahs, we need up-to-date information on the number and where they are found. Supported by the Beit Trust, this research uses pictures from camera traps to positively identify each animal and satellite collars to understand how connected our cheetah population is with other populations (e.g., populations in neighbouring countries such as Botswana, Zambia, and Namibia). 

Knowing where cheetahs go and how they interact with each other will help us plan to ensure their free movement between protected areas. This research’s overall findings will assist in developing science-driven cheetah conservation strategies and policies to safeguard cheetahs inside and outside protected areas in Zimbabwe.

We are deeply grateful for the transformative support from the Beit Trust. This generous support will make this research possible, enable the development of our team (e.g. helping pay for one of our research assistants to take their driver’s license so we can spread our efforts and cover more ground), and create new opportunities for young Zimbabweans (e.g. training more young Zimbabwean university attachment students for a year).