The Uganda Wildlife Education Centre in Entebbe has imported into the country a female cheetah from South Africa.
UWEC says the main reason for the importation was to breed with the existing male cheetahs at the centre with the aim of multiplying the cheetah population in the country.
Cheetahs are the fastest land animals in the world but are now an endangered species facing extinction with only 2572 animals currently existing in the entire East Africa region.
UWEC Public Relations Officer Isaac Mujaasi said UWEC received the cheetah from Mystics and Feathers wildlife Centre in South Africa on an exchange program involving UWEC sending them 10 monkeys in return.
Mujaasi said: “It is very difficult to hunt a cheetah in the wild. It’s ultimately cheaper and easier to acquire one through such an exchange program.”
Before this new import, UWEC had two cheetah at the centre in Entebbe. They are named Upe and Pian and were rescued from Amudat district after they strayed from the wild and became threatened by humans who were actively hunting them down.
Upe and Pian are however related and cannot be allowed to mate and breed which necessitated the acquisition of another cheetah to avoid in breeding.
UWEC has not released the name of the new cheetah or its age.