A Kenyan family raised an orphaned cheetah cub despite offers to sell it, as poaching fuels a cheetah smuggling crisis.

A Kenyan family in Wajir rescued and raised an orphaned cheetah cub, feeding it 15 sheep and refusing offers to sell it despite financial incentives. Wildlife experts believe the cub’s mother was likely killed by poaching or poisoning, part of a larger crisis in northeastern Kenya where hundreds of cheetah cubs are smuggled annually to Yemen and Gulf States for the illegal pet trade. While the Kenya Wildlife Service praised the family’s compassion, it reiterated that keeping wild animals as pets is illegal and urged the public to support conservation through legal means. The cheetah is now being cared for at Nairobi Safari Walk.