Two cheetahs born and raised at a Kent wildlife park have successfully hunted for the first time out in the wild.

Saba, who hit the headlines two years ago for escaping from his enclosure at Howletts, is now in South Africa with his brother Nairo.

The pair have become immediately accustomed to their new surroundings - claiming their first kills within 24 hours of being on a protected reserve.

The groundbreaking wildlife project, run by KentOnline's charity of the year the Aspinall Foundation, has so far been a great success - bringing the vulnerable species back to their usual habitat.

It is the first time hand-raised cheetahs have left the UK for rewilding in Africa.

Both Saba and Nairo were raised at the Canterbury park, and have grown up together for the past three years.

Saba - raised by foundation chairman Damian Aspinall and his wife, Victoria - broke out of his enclosure in 2018 by squeezing through a gap in his perimeter fencing to enter the neighbouring deer park.

Two panicked deer were killed as a result, with one dying on impact when running into a fence, and the other having to be euthanised because of its injuries.

Saba and his brother departed from Howletts earlier this year and arrived in Africa 6,000 miles away in February.

The brothers were initially housed in a holding enclosure - helping them adapt to their new surroundings outside Cape Town.

After five months, they have now been released into a purpose-built 740-acre hunting area designed to teach them how to track springbok, warthog and blesbok - a type of antelope.

Within 24 hours of their release at Mount Camdeboo Private Game Reserve, they split up to explore their new home. Saba managed to kill a blesbok and Nairo hunted a springbok.

Since then, the boys have managed to kill another springbok ram.

During their acclimatisation period, if they are unsuccessful for three to four days, they will be supplemented with carcasses to feed on.

But once they are able to hunt entirely on their own for about five consecutive weeks, they will become fully wild and be released to a larger 20,000-acre reserve.

Damian Aspinall, head of the Aspinall Foundation, said: "Saba and Nairo are both doing exceptionally well in their new hunting area.

"They are acting like wild cheetahs with real confidence.

"We need to keep in mind that this is a ground-breaking process as it is the first-time that zoo animals from the United Kingdom have returned to their native homeland to be rewilded.

"The boys are therefore being monitored carefully to ensure success."

Escaped animals, unusual finds and news from the RSPCA can all be found here.

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