A mother cheetah yawns beside one of her young cubs at the De Wildt Cheetah...

A mother cheetah yawns beside one of her young cubs at the De Wildt Cheetah centre in South Africa June 12, 2003 which has just launched a nationwide census to find the number of the endangered big cats living wild in South Africa. Using radio collars, cameras, aircraft and DNA testing, the survey is the first comprehensive study of any country's cheetah population, says Ann van Dyk, who started the De Wildt Cheetah and Wildlife Trust 32 years ago. The De Wildt is the only approved cheetah breeding centre in the world. The census is expected to take between five and eight years to complete.