Samara Private Game Reserve is a 28,300 hectare private
game reserve
A game reserve (also known as a wildlife preserve or a game park) is a large area of land where wild animals live safely or are hunted in a controlled way for sport. If hunting is prohibited, a game reserve may be considered a nature reserve; ...
, located near
Graaff-Reinet
Graaff-Reinet is a town in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. It is the oldest town in the province. It is also the sixth-oldest town in South Africa, after Cape Town, Stellenbosch, Simon's Town, Paarl and Swellendam. The town was the ...
in the
Eastern Cape,
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...
. Previously a network of 11 livestock farms, Samara was created in 1997 with the vision to restore the area to its natural state. This is being achieved by slowly rehabilitating the land and reintroducing the natural
biodiversity
Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic (''genetic variability''), species (''species diversity''), and ecosystem (''ecosystem diversity'') l ...
. The
South African cheetah
The Southeast African cheetah (''Acinonyx jubatus jubatus'') is the nominate cheetah subspecies native to East and Southern Africa. The Southern African cheetah lives mainly in the lowland areas and deserts of the Kalahari, the savannahs of Okav ...
s are at the forefront of Samara's conservation initiatives, and forms part of the Cheetah Metapopulation Programme, managed by the
Endangered Wildlife Trust
The Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) is a non-governmental, not-for-profit South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that s ...
.
Research projects
Samara promotes research on the reserve, and is currently supporting the following research projects:
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Cheetah
The cheetah (''Acinonyx jubatus'') is a large cat native to Africa and central Iran. It is the fastest land animal, estimated to be capable of running at with the fastest reliably recorded speeds being , and as such has evolved specialized ...
and
Jackal
Jackals are medium-sized canids native to Africa and Eurasia. While the word "jackal" has historically been used for many canines of the subtribe canina, in modern use it most commonly refers to three species: the closely related black-backed ...
research, through the Centre for African Carnivore Ecology at Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University
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Vervet monkey
The vervet monkey (''Chlorocebus pygerythrus''), or simply vervet, is an Old World monkey of the family Cercopithecidae native to Africa. The term "vervet" is also used to refer to all the members of the genus ''Chlorocebus''. The five distinct ...
research through the University of the Witwatersrand and the University of Lethbridge.
Tracker Academy
Samara is home to South Africa's first Tracker Academy, aimed at teaching outstanding underprivileged individuals the art of tracking. Samara Volunteer Programme is also based on the property, aimed at giving individuals the opportunity to contribute to hands-on conservation.
Vuyani Safe Haven
Samara supports Vuyani Safe Haven as its community initiative.
See also
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Eastern Cape Parks
Eastern Cape Parks are the national parks, marine protected areas, nature reserves and other nature conservation areas in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. Eastern Cape Parks and Tourism Agency (ECPTA) is the governmental organisation res ...
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Protected areas of South Africa
The protected areas of South Africa include national parks and marine protected areas managed by the national government, public nature reserves managed by provincial and local governments, and private nature reserves managed by private landow ...
References
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External links
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{{coord missing, South Africa
Game reserves of South Africa