The Centre was established in South Africa in 1971, in the past known as the De Wildt Cheetah Centre it has recently been changed to The Ann van Dyk Cheetah Centre as a tribute to the woman who has devoted her life to the survival of the cheetah species.
The aims of the Centre are to breed rare and endangered species (which includes the cheetah and African wild dog) and to support scientific investigations into all aspects of these species. They also aim to promote public awareness - particularly amongst the younger generation - of the pressing need for wildlife preservation.
Visitors to the Centre are afforded the opportunity of viewing endangered species such as the cheetah and African wild dog, in natural surroundings and at close quarters. The Centre continues to play a role in conservation biology by helping to maintain adequate gene pools of rare and endangered species. They aim to generate income to support existing and future breeding projects at the Centre and where feasible, to re-establish endangered wildlife species into areas where they once occurred naturally.
Today the Centre can look back with satisfaction on a job well done in ensuring the survival of Acinonyx jubatus - the cheetah, successfully breeding the king cheetah in captivity for the first time in the world.
While the cheetah breeding project was the base from which Ann launched her conservation ethic, it soon widened to include other endangered animal species, such as the African wild dog, brown hyaena, servals, suni antelope and riverine rabbits.
The Centre is an NGO and funds generated from tours and the adoption programme are used to subsidise their conservation projects.
