At South Africa’s Samara Karoo Reserve in the Eastern Cape, visitors have the rare opportunity to observe wild cheetahs up close on foot, a practice made possible through decades of careful habituation. One such encounter involved Mbali, a female cheetah mother, seen resting peacefully about 20 feet from observers while tending to her six young cubs. These cubs retain their distinctive silver-gray fur, which serves as camouflage by resembling honey badgers.

This unique relationship between humans and cheetahs at Samara traces back to Sibella, Mbali’s great-grandmother, who was reintroduced to the reserve in 2004 following rescue and rehabilitation by the De Wildt Cheetah & Wildlife Trust. Sibella’s release marked the return of cheetahs to the Great Karoo region after nearly 130 years of absence, a landscape deeply affected by unregulated farming and hunting. Despite suffering from prior human-inflicted trauma, Sibella displayed an unusual tolerance for human presence, allowing guides to accompany her and later her offspring on foot without distress.

Sarah Tompkins, founder and director of Samara Karoo Reserve, described Sibella’s behavior as exceptional given her history, noting that the cheetah’s acceptance of humans has continued through subsequent generations raised under respectful conditions. Today, Samara is recognized as a leading site on the African continent for cheetah photography and conservation-focused tourism. The reserve offers activities such as the Cheetah Trail—a three-night slackpacking adventure—that enable visitors to experience the landscape and wildlife away from vehicles while gaining insight into the conservation challenges facing cheetahs, whose wild population numbers fewer than 7,000 adults.

Tamsyn Fricker, co-founder of Travel Artistry Africa, highlighted an increasing interest among travelers in active, educational safaris that emphasize tracking and conservation. She stressed the importance of selecting operators that prioritize animal welfare, cautioning against tours that guarantee animal sightings or promote direct “interactions” with wildlife. According to Fricker, reputable guides maintain a respectful distance and possess specialized training for walking safaris.

At Samara, guides do not guarantee encounters with specific animals and emphasize the unpredictable nature of wildlife. Mbali, for instance, remained undisturbed during the observation, focused on raising her family as she would in any natural setting—with humans serving as quiet witnesses rather than participants in her behavior. This approach underpins Samara’s commitment to ethical wildlife tourism and the ongoing efforts to restore the cheetah population in the Great Karoo.