Cheetah of the Month: Meet Dominic, our Loudest Cheetah

Meet Dominic, our Cheetah of the Month for November 2026! 

One of the resident cats in Namibia, Dominic was orphaned in the Khomas region in 2018, when he was less than a week old. However, the circumstances leading to him being removed from his mother are still a bit of a mystery. He was discovered by farm workers and cared for by a farmer for several days, until the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism (MEFT) was contacted, and Dominic was ultimately transferred to Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF) for care. 

Still just a few days old when he first arrived – and only 800g –  Dominic was bottle fed every three hours until he was able to start eating meat. Despite his young age, Dominic was stabilized and after having his first round of vaccinations at four weeks old, he began exploring the outdoors. While Dominic was healthy and stable, staff faced a challenge socializing him. 

At the time, there were no other cheetah cubs close to his age being rehabilitated – and because he was just a few weeks old, he was too young to introduce to the older resident cheetahs yet (although he did meet some of the old cats through the fence). However, the team arrived at a temporary solution that would allow Dominic to safely socialize with other animals – introducing him to three pet dogs. Dominic bonded with one of the dogs in particular, a large Anatolian named Hercules, who was often observed grooming Dominic the way a mother would in the wild.

Cheetah Companions 

When he was approximately six months old, Dominic was introduced to another rescued cheetah  – a young cat named Sasha, who was just a few months older. When he was approximately a year old, another rescued cub named Savannah with similar temperament was added to the group. 

This living arrangement helped to simulate the natural social structure that occurs in the wild with siblings – and Dominic gradually learned to play with his companions. He has been sharing space with other compatible cheetahs ever since, and over the course of his lifetime, has lived with both male and female companions. 

Today, Dominic lives in a large enclosure with two female cheetahs named Jaya and Khaleesi. Although all three cats coexist peacefully, Dominic is a largely solitary cheetah. Earlier this year, Dominic and both of the females were diagnosed with gastritis, which caused difficulties for their eating and digestion processes. All three cheetahs were treated with a special diet and antibiotics, and as part of their follow-up care, received subcutaneous fluids daily to support kidney health. 

A Distinctive Big Cat

In April, Dominic turned eight – and appropriately celebrated his birthday with a special meat treat. Since Dominic was orphaned and placed into human care at such a young age, he could not be returned to the wild. However, at Cheetah Conservation Fund’s (CCF) Centre in Namibia, he has served as an educational ambassador for his species – and been a longtime favorite among visitors observing cheetah runs and feedings. 

Dominic is very distinguishable because of his especially dark coat and spots, offsetting his stunning amber eyes. According to his caregivers, he has always been a very vocal cheetah. He’s perhaps best known for his xxx purr! 

If you want to sponsor Dominic to get updates on him and keep supporting all the work we do, click here.