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

Two cheetahs born at a Kent wildlife park have hunted for the first time at their new home in South Africa.

Brothers Saba and Nairo were born in captivity at Howletts Wild Animal Park near Canterbury. They were relocated to the 300 hectare reserve in South Africa February to start their re-wilding journey.

The milestone has been described as "phenomenal" by the foundation - for the pair who were in captivity just five months ago.

After spending five months at Ashia Cheetah Conservation just outside Cape Town to acclimatise, the boys undertook a 660 km trip to their new forever home, Mount Camdeboo Private Game Reserve located in the Great Karoo.

The two brothers were initially housed in a holding boma for further acclimatisation before being released into a purpose built 300 hectare/741 acre hunting area which was designed to teach them how to hunt local prey species consisting mainly of blesbok, springbok and warthog.

Within a mere 24 hours of their release into the hunting area, the brothers split up to explore their new environment and Saba managed to kill a blesbok, whereas Nairo managed to successfully kill a springbok.