In brief
In Wajir County, Kenya, a family adopted an orphaned cheetah cub, raising it as part of their family despite community concerns about livestock safety. The family, who have cared for the cub for over two years, faced pressure from neighbors to abandon the animal. Their compassion for the orphaned cub defies local norms, reflecting a struggle between wildlife conservation and community livelihoods.
A Kenyan family has told the BBC how a cheetah cub they adopted after finding it lying next to its dead mother became almost like one of their children.
However, their neighbours in the northern Wajir county were not pleased to see a wild animal being raised so close to them.
Many people immediately told us to get rid of the cub so it wouldn't harm the livestock. We didn't do that because it seemed unreasonable, Bisharo Abdirahman Omar said.
The reaction was unsurprising as the Somali-speaking nomadic community earns their living by raising livestock, which are often threatened by predators like cheetahs, leopards, lions, and hyenas.
We knew it wouldn't benefit us in any way, like livestock would, said Rashid Abdi Hussein, a 45-year-old father of 10. But I decided that since people are killing these animals, maybe we should raise them instead and be different.
The family cared for the cub for over two years, during which it became an inseparable part of the family. The animal was troublesome at first, but in the end, it became tame and became one of the children, Mr. Hussein shared.
The family fed the cub milk through a syringe at first, then meat when it was old enough. They have made significant sacrifices, as Mr. Hussein noted, since the day I rescued it, I have slaughtered 15 sheep to feed the cheetah.
The family has received praise from the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) for their generosity in caring for an animal that is frequently killed or trafficked.
Cheetahs are currently facing a very grave threat, along with many other wild animals, said Sharmaarke Mohamed, head of the Northeastern Conservancy Association (NECA).
While KWS appreciates the family's compassion, it reminds Kenyans that keeping wild animals as pets is against the law. The young cheetah is now being cared for at the Nairobi Safari Walk.
