Africa Alive, between Lowestoft and Soutwold, welcomes Duma the cheetah to help with European breeding programme

The Zoological Society of East Anglia has welcomed a female cheetah at Africa Alive, between Lowestoft and Southwold, this week to help the site’s European breeding programme for this vulnerable animal.

The Suffolk reserve in Kessingland, which is also linked to Banham Zoo in Norfolk, posted on social media yesterday that it had a two-year-old cheetah called Duma join the site from the Zoo de Montpellier in France.

Cheetahs are classed as vulnerable on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species with between 5,000 to 10,000 left in Africa and as few as 60 in Asia.

Africa Alice Reserve said in its post: “Duma has settled in well in the days since her arrival, getting to know our wonderful team of carnivore keepers.”

Cheetahs are found throughout the drier regions of sub-Saharan Africa where they inhabit woods, grassland and semi-desert areas. A small number are also found in the Kavir desert of Iran.