Kenyan Family Rescues Orphaned Cheetah Cub, Defies Neighbors' Demands

In 2023, a Kenyan family in the northern Wajir county made an unusual decision to adopt a cheetah cub they found lying next to its dead mother. Despite facing strong opposition from their livestock-focused neighbors, the family chose to care for the young animal.

The family, led by Rashid Abdi Hussein, a 45-year-old father of 10, knew their decision would not benefit them financially like raising livestock would. However, they were determined to give the orphaned cub a chance at life, even though it required a significant personal sacrifice. Over the next 2 years and 3 months, the family fed the cub milk through a syringe and later transitioned it to meat, slaughtering 15 sheep to provide for it.

While the cub was "troublesome at first," the family says it eventually became tame and integrated into their household, becoming "one of the children." However, their neighbors in the Somali-speaking nomadic community were not pleased, immediately urging the family to get rid of the wild animal before it could harm their livestock.

The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) has praised the family's generosity, though they note that keeping wild animals as pets is against the law. Sharmaarke Mohamed, head of the Northeastern Conservancy Association, says cheetahs and other wildlife in the region are facing a growing crisis, with many being killed or trafficked.

The family was approached by people offering to buy the young cheetah, but they refused, as the animal had become part of their family. The cub is now being cared for at the Nairobi Safari Walk, where it can receive proper rehabilitation and protection.