The Consequence of Human-Wildlife Conflict and Illegal Wildlife/Pet trade – Salim’s Story!

Salim fell victim to the unfortunate reality of human-wildlife conflict and was headed for sale as part of the illegal wildlife/pet trade.

Salim’s mother killed a goat from a free-roaming herd grazing in her territory. Livestock roam freely in Somaliland which is a typical practice, most of the time there’s a good balance and respect between herders and wildlife.  The herder was aware of the cheetah family and knew the location of the cubs, after the loss of his goat, he made the decision to take one cub from the litter as a compensation for his goat knowing he could sell the cub and regain his monetary loss.

Salim’s captor did not know how to manage a three-month-old aggressive and terrified cheetah cub. The captor secured Salim by putting a rope around his neck and a rope around his left hind limb to prevent Salim from escaping.

Salim was fortunately confiscated by Somaliland authorities on April 4, 2022.  Upon arrival in CCF care, Salim’s was terrified, aggressive, dehydrated and had an important wound to his left hind limb caused by the rope. The rope had cut through the skin exposing the muscle, he received medical care right away. His wound required daily cleaning and applying honey to help the wound heal. It was not an easy time for Salim as he was terrified of people. The Vet team did an amazing job to minimize the stress by handling him as little as possible and provide the best care.

After Salim received his medical discharge, he was able to join the Azaar group giving him much comfort and security to be reunited with some cheetah friends. He is now a proud member of an 8-male coalition (Lorenzo, Nasiib, Sahmiye, Azaar, Yaku, Kaise and Bashir).

Salim has no permanent physical issue from his ordeal, he is still very untrusting of people and rather be as far as possible to humans. He can show aggressive behaviour if he feels uncertain and if his daily routine changes. He does enjoy training session, and he does participate in his preventive medical care in exchange for some treats.

Salim enjoy spending time with his group mate, grooming, napping and playing. As a sub-adult, Salim was very playful and enjoyed chasing a toy attached to a rope, the keepers were able to gain his trust through play and eventually he accepted to take food from the keepers via trust feeding session which was a major step for him.

Salim is one of the smallest of his group and usually will keep his distance if the group is having a moment of rough play, but if not, he’s always involved in all the group activities and has adapted really well to his new life at the Cheetah Rescue & Conservation Centre in Geed Deeble.

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