The education division of The Ann van Dyk Cheetah Centre of Dewildt. In 2010 CHEETA was registered as a Section 18A Non Profit Organisation and works extensively in underprivileged communities. Conservation through education

Conservation through education

CHEETA is the education division of The Ann van Dyk Cheetah Centre. We believe that education is a vital part of the conservation process, and visits are made to various schools and organisations in different parts of the country. Schools can visit The Ann van Dyk Cheetah centre for informative tours and fun activities

In 2003 the Centre launched its Outreach Education Programme, using the cheetah as a symbol of survival and sustainability to teach young people how to overcome challenges and to be catalysts in their communities for the preservation of natural resources and the improvement of their own lives. This project has touched the lives of over 100 000 learners since its start.

In 2010 CHEETA was registered as a Section 18A Non Profit Organisation and works extensively in underprivileged communities.

CHEETA offers the following programmes: cheetah challenge (Outreach), corporate & school visits, tours at the Ann van Dyk Cheetah Centre and school holiday programmes.


Have our education team visit your school or organisation
CHEETA offers a Cheetah Presentation with a cheetah ambassador, or a wild dog and vulture presentation accompanied by an Egyptian Vulture and Anatolian.

Because many communities are not well exposed to domestic animals, CHEETA also offers an outreach programme in impoverished communities to help better the understanding of how to look after and love domestic animals. Our lovely Anatolian dog ambassador accompanies our education team with the domestic animal presentation.

PowerPoint presentation accompanied by an ambassador cheetah

Visits to schools and other organizations are made by an Education Officer from the Centre, learners are given a formal lesson supported by a powerpoint presentation, and under controlled circumstances are introduced to one of our ambassador cheetahs. Visits are made to both rural and urban communities.

Children are challenged to become aware of their environment. They are tasked with finding out what the environmental issues/problems are that face their local communities. What the causes or sources of these problems are and they are asked to begin to develop solutions.

The cheetah is a flagship species and there is no doubt that when people are able to touch a cheetah, hear it purr and get a close up view of the tail, dew claw, teeth and beauty of the animal, they will never forget the experience.

Wild dog and Vulture Presentation

With less than 5000 wild dogs, and various vulture species in Africa listed as endangered, this informative presentation about our lesser known endangered animals introduces learners to the amazing life in the pack of wild dogs, and to the importance of our vultures in the ecosystem. Learners are introduced to the Anatolian dog, the most effective and humane way of dealing with predator conflict on livestock farms. Learners will get the opportunity to see an Anatolian dog ambassador, as well as an Egyptian Vulture ambassador when our education team gives this presentation.

Domestic Animal Presentation

Many learners do not have confidence with domestic animals. Allow us to teach youngsters about how to look after their domestic animals well, and learn how to become friends with them. Our education team shows the learners how animals are very indivual through a slide show presentation, and afterwards our lovely Anatolian dog shows children that even large dogs can be cuddly.
Visit the Ann van Dyk Cheetah Centre
You can choose from the following options and make your experience at the centre customized according to your focus area.

· Walking tour – 1 ½ hours where learners will see and learn about cheetahs, wild dogs, caracal, African wild cat and various vulture species
· Interaction with an ambassador cheetah under controlled conditions, learners can meet a trained cheetah. (approximately 30 min)
· Educational presentation on one of the following topics:
Tracks and Signs of the wild, RRR, Wild dogs and Vultures, Endangered Endemics of SA, the small 5 (Approximately 30 min)
· Crafts for our planet: Learners can make recycled paper, customized earrings, spoor casts of wild life on the farm and much more (approximately 1 hour)
· Education games – learners explore the life of a cheetah and learn about our ecosystems through a session on our “prey-ground”

Learners can pre-book a lunch pack, and can visit our curio shop after the tour.

Holiday Programme / Weekend Programme

We have developed a two day, fun filled, educational and environmentally focused programme aimed at school children from the ages of 8 to 15. Let them spend 2 days learning about saving the planet, understanding and Interacting with cheetah, tracking,
documenting and casting spoor, attracting and identifying insects, differentiating alien from indigenous vegetation, turning waste into crafts and making paper from recycled paper and other material.
Please note, this is not a residential programme. It will run from 09h30 to 15h30 daily. Book early as space is limited.A maximum of 20 children can be accommodated per programme.(Need confirmation about numbers of tented camp before advertising…)

Weekend programmes can be arranged for scouts, voortrekkers or school leadership groups.

Become friends with a cheetah ambassador, or a learner in South Africa from anywhere in the world...

"Purrpals" is an initiative to bring an ambassador cheetah into classrooms through video calls such as Skype, Google talk etc. Donations are welcome, as we need to raise funds to visit our rural schools.

Through "penpals" learners from all over the world can make friends with learners in schools that our education team visits, and this will help our rural learners with their english proficiency, as well as be a fantastic opportunity to learn about diverse cultures all over the world. Video calls can also be made to the class rooms as a great way of increasing learners exposure to technology and broaden their life experiences.

Meet the school going ambassadors
Byron the Cheetah
Byron was born 31 May 2002. He was the centre's first ambassador cheetah. Byron has a huge personality, and has visited young and old from all walks of life. Because he is such a handsome male, he has also sired cubs, one of which is also learning to be an ambassador cheetah. He has recently retired from school visits, and spends his days lazing in his camp at the centre. He still loves attention from guests that pass his enclosure on the tour, and is still as beautiful as ever.
Yeats the Cheetah
Yeats was born 29 April 2010. Yeats is an amazing cheetah with a great personality, and is very patient. He has been visiting schools since 2012, and has taken over the role as the main school going ambassador. He is very confident, and he in on the way of becoming as much of a celebrity as Byron.

Jedi The Anatolian Dog
Jedi is a fantastic ambassador, as both an Antolian and an example of domestic dog. Anatolian dogs are a special breed that live with livestock, and help to keep to predators away from the livestock. This is an amazing breed therefore helps to protect our cheetahs, as well as other predators on livestock farms, as farmfarmers can now live harmoniously with predators. Jedi became ill as a pup while he was working on a goat farm, and due to his health issues, he lives at the centre with his friends, two goats. Because Anatolians are very intuative as to protecting the lambs, kids or calves, Jedi loves children and the attention they give him when he visits schools.

Sagira The Egyptian Vulture
Sagira was born at The Ann van Dyk Cheetah Centre in November 2012. As her parents had not been successful in hatching an egg laid earlier in the season, we decided to hand raise her. Sagira has a great personality, and is has done very well as an ambassador at schools so far. Egyptian vultures are very rare, and she conveys a very important message about all the threats that our vultures are facing, and just how important vultures are for our environment.