Unexpected Discovery in My Homeland

My short trip to a location 45 minutes’ drive from my home in Hargeisa on Friday with my friends was peculiar. I suddenly learned about the high number of cheetahs confiscated and rehabilitated at the Somaliland Cheetah Rescue and Conservation Centre (CRCC) in Geed-Deeble. I was amazed to discover the large efforts that have saved more than 100 cheetah cubs in Geed-Deeble, along with other wildlife that had been confiscated from illegal trade and smugglers’ ongoing businesses for exporting wildlife via the Gulf of Arabia.

As a YouTuber, my travel stories inform my audience, including Somalilanders and others, about wildlife, tourism, and environmental improvements, including forests, in different countries that I have visited over the past several years. My human-interest stories, based on my travel business to Africa and other locations worldwide, have shared stories of tourism, wildlife, and parks with my esteemed followers, especially Somali audiences who often connect with me. However, I had no clue about what was happening in my vicinity!

Excitingly, what I have observed this month in Geed-Deeble near my hometown, Hargeisa, is amazing. It is different from what I saw in Namibia, Tanzania, and other countries in terms of tourism and wildlife parks. I was unaware that a quarter of all cheetahs living in the Horn of Africa are accommodated by CCF after being confiscated from illegal traders and smugglers who traffic cubs in different directions, predominantly to the wildlife trade markets of Gulf countries, which have been expanding in recent years.

Sharing with my followers the news about the cheetahs rehabilitated from confiscation is a step forward. It puts the ears and eyes of my audience on the large number of resources saved and the distinctive species of cheetah, which is a noticeable big cat facing extinction.

The establishment of such a conservancy or wildlife park as the cheetah center proves how much effort has been sacrificed to protect the wildlife sector, which is in its starting stage. Comprehension of protecting the environment and improving ecosystems that help the progress of biodiversity will encourage job creation, business opportunities, and ultimately the intent to safeguard our nature, which in turn, protects our lives.