OGRAN (Observatoire des Guépards en Région d'Afrique du Nord) aims to conserve the threatened North African cheetah through various programmes involving local communities.

It has been estimated that at the beginning of the last century, there were over 100,000 cheetahs in more than 44 countries, in both Africa and Asia. They have now been made extinct in at least 20 of these countries: habitat loss, conflict with humans, and the cheetah's own loss of genetic variation are the main threats facing the cheetah today. Their total population does not exceed 12 to 15 thousand individuals. About 200 of these are found in Iran. In fact, the vast majority of these amazing animals live outside protected reserves where they often come into conflict with people and livestock. In Namibia, 95% of the population lives on commercial farm land. The animals are often caught in traps or killed by people who believe cheetahs have killed livestock, an accusation which is often exaggerated.

Created in early 2005 by Françoise Claro and colleagues, OGRAN has been managed by Awely since February 2007. It aims to coordinate the efforts of international specialists (in and ex-sit) for the conservation of the very limited individuals of the North African subspecies (Acinonyx jubatus venaticus and hecki). The first missions carried out by SZP, MNHN and IRD in the Termit area, the regional park of W in Niger, and the Penjari region in the W park in Benign, confirm the need for action in the region. The next stages aim at a clarification of the threats, implementation of safety actions, training of rangers, and education of local populations through workshops with a goal of limiting cheetah-human conflicts.

Awely was in Niger and Bening earlier, defining these next stages more precisely, and meeting with various local collaborators. Our organisation will organise the next cheetah meeting with the national Benign wildlife authorities in March next year, in the Penjari National Park

Contact: Renaud Fulconis at renaud(a)awely.org