Deep within the wilds of South Africa’s bushveld, Mabula is dedicated to protecting wildlife, preserving fragile ecosystems, and working hand-in-hand with local communities to safeguard our natural heritage.
Every project, from innovative anti-poaching efforts to habitat restoration, is part of the bigger goal of ensuring that this pristine wilderness thrives for generations to come.
The deep, booming call of the Southern Ground Hornbill was once a familiar sound across Africa’s savannahs. Today, it risks falling silent.
Since 1999, Mabula Private Game Reserve has been home to the award-winning Mabula Ground Hornbill Project, a non-profit initiative that has become one of South Africa’s leading conservation programmes.
The charismatic Southern Ground-Hornbill (Bucorvus leadbeateri) is known across African cultures as the ‘thunder’ or ‘rain’ bird, and stands as a flagship species for the savannah biome alongside cheetah, rhino, and several vulture species. Yet today, it is officially listed as Endangered in South Africa and Namibia, with fewer than 1,500 individuals left in the South Africa’s wild.
Ground hornbills live in small, cooperative family groups, with only one breeding pair supported by several helpers who defend the territory and feed the female and chick. Meanwhile, in addition to the challenge of having only 400–500 breeding groups nationwide, very few chicks survive into adulthood. Data from the Kruger National Park shows that, on average, only one chick is raised to adulthood every nine years.
The reasons for their decline are predominantly loss of nesting trees, secondary poisoning, and electrocution, loss of habitat to croplands, bush encroachment, overgrazing, and monoculture.
The Mabula Ground Hornbill Project is working to protect these remarkable birds by:
This hands-on approach is helping to slow the decline of this iconic species, giving the thunderbird a voice in South Africa’s future once again.
Fast and elusive, cheetahs are the most vulnerable of Africa’s big cats. At Mabula, every step is taken to keep their numbers alive and secure their future.
Mabula Private Game Reserve is proud to be part of the Endangered Wildlife Trust’s Cheetah Metapopulation Project, which aims to reintroduce cheetahs into areas where they had disappeared due to conflict, habitat loss, and shrinking ranges.
This project treats all cheetahs across southern Africa as one interconnected population, moving individuals between reserves to ensure genetic diversity and long-term survival.
In December 2011, Mabula welcomed its first cheetahs from the Sanbona Wildlife Reserve, and we have been closely involved in research and monitoring ever since. Every cheetah on our reserve is collared to study their movements, prey preferences, hunting habits, and survival, and the findings contribute to broader conservation knowledge across the region.
In November 2023, our team made a tragic discovery that demanded swift and careful action. They set out to monitor a resident cheetah female and her two cubs, but found she had been killed by a leopard during the night. Fearing for the cubs’ safety, they searched the area and, fortunately, found both still alive.
But at just seven months old, they were too young to survive on their own. So, the cubs were rescued and placed in the predator boma where they could receive the care needed.
After extensive discussions with experts, we decided not to send the orphaned cheetah cubs to a captive rehabilitation programme, but to keep them at Mabula with a surrogate mother to raise them. Then, just before their planned release back into the wild, we suffered another major setback – the surrogate mother sadly passed away.
We had to begin the entire process again. Thankfully, to our great relief, we were able to help the cubs successfully form a new bond with another surrogate mother.
In 2025, Mabula welcomed four new cheetahs to the reserve under the guidance of the Endangered Wildlife Trust: a young female named Q – affectionately called the Queen of Mabula – followed by bonded brothers Isago (“future”) and Katlego (“success”), and, most recently, a mature female named Atsile (“behold”).
Their arrival strengthens genetic diversity in the reserve, and continues the legacy of Mabula’s late matriarch, the Ukulima female, whose lineage helped repopulate reserves across southern Africa.
Today, our guests can witness the incredible sight of these cheetahs roaming the reserve – a testament to the outstanding dedication of our conservation team.
Few predators are as endangered, or as captivating, as the African Wild Dog – Africa’s most social hunters. At Mabula, we’ve become part of their fight for survival.
In May 2022, Mabula marked a milestone with the successful reintroduction of a pack of African Wild Dogs, making us the closest reserve to Gauteng where guests can see these extraordinary predators in their natural environment.
Known for their complex social bonds and incredible hunting success rates, wild dogs are one of Africa’s most endangered carnivores. Habitat loss, disease, and conflict with farmers continue to threaten their survival, but their role in balancing ecosystems is vital.
The journey to establish Mabula’s pack began in July 2021 with the arrival of two males, later joined by two females from the Waterberg Wild Dog population. After weeks of careful bonding in a holding boma, they were released to roam free in the reserve on May 11, 2022. Today, they represent one of only two known breeding packs in the entire Waterberg region.
Our success is strengthened by the Waterberg Wild Dog Initiative (WWDI), a community-based non-profit working to protect the region’s wild dogs. By collaborating with landowners and farmers, WWDI promotes coexistence through education, awareness, and practical conflict-mitigation measures.
Together, these efforts are ensuring that wild dogs once again have a future in the Waterberg, and that visitors to Mabula can have the rare opportunity to witness their energy and social spirit firsthand.
Conservation is no simple task, and the challenges are very real – from poaching and habitat loss to the impacts of climate change. But Mabula continues to push forward with multidisciplinary and evidence-based projects, community partnerships, and deep respect for the land.
For our guests, this means that every safari is about more than a wildlife experience. It’s also a chance to be part of something bigger and even more meaningful: helping to protect Africa’s biodiversity.
Every time you visit Mabula, you play a role in protecting endangered species, restoring habitats, and supporting the local communities that share this land. Your safari ensures that the call of the Southern Ground Hornbill, and the sight of a cheetah sprinting across the bushveld will remain part of Africa’s future for many generations to come.
Tel: +27 (0) 11 516 4367
Email: res@extraordinary.co.za
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