Cheetahs raised in the UK first to be released back into African wild

• Video report by ITV News Senior International Correspondent John Irvine

We hear them before we see them. The commotion was an attempted kill, but the prey escaped.

When we found him Nairo was lying down panting heavily. Roughly eight out of ten cheetah hunts end in failure.

But the fact he and his brother Saba had tried to make a kill at all, was further proof that cheetahs born and reared in captivity can be successfully introduced to the wild.

These cheetahs started life in Kent where they were looked after by the Aspinall Foundation.

• Cheetahs born at Kent wildlife park hunt for the first time in Africa

Saba was a sickly cub and had to be handraised by the Aspinall family. He was about as tame as you can get.

When we found him in the South African bush he snarled at us. A good sign.

The Aspinall Foundation selected the magnificent Mount Cambedoo Game Reserve in the Karoo for the cheetahs’ release.

Because they are a research project they wear collars so they can be tracked.

They were flown from England to South Africa 14 months ago. After some training they made their first kill on the reserve last August.

There are more wild rhinos in Africa than cheetahs. Not even the fastest animal on land can outpace the consequences of loss of habitat and a shrinking gene pool.

That the brothers become fathers is the next ambition for an already successful project.