The Centre was established 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. Today the Centre can look back with satisfaction on a job well done in ensuring the survival of Acinonyx jubatus, successfully breeding the king cheetah in captivity for the first time in the world. While the cheetah 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.