Eleven Cheetah Cubs Rescued from Traffickers

Eleven cheetah cubs have been rescued off the coast of Somaliland in what conservationists have called one of the largest seizures of its kind.

The animals were discovered crammed into sacks aboard a small boat intercepted last weekend near Berbera by the local coast guard. Two Somalilanders and three Yemenis were arrested during the operation. The cubs were taken to a rescue centre run by the Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF).

Many of the young felines were in destitute condition after being smuggled without proper food or care.

“The cubs were in very poor condition,” CCF founder Laurie Marker told an international publication on Thursday, 2 October, before she continued: “One died only a few hours after arriving at the CCF’s centre… Another died the next day.”

Two remain critically ill while seven are showing signs of recovery.

With fewer than 7 000 cheetahs left in the wild, Marker warned: “Cheetahs are not pets… Wildlife belongs in the wild.”

Somaliland has become a key transit point for traffickers moving cheetahs and leopards from the Horn of Africa to wealthy buyers in Gulf states. In August, ten more cheetah cubs were rescued in a separate case.

Image Credit: Source