00:00In a sanctuary in Somaliland, 127 cheetahs roam inside protected enclosures,
00:06all rescued from the illegal wildlife trade.
00:09Destined to be sold as pets in the Gulf,
00:12many are the only survivors of a journey that most do not endure.
00:16Well, right now we have 127 cheetahs, and our oldest one is 8 years old,
00:22and our youngest ones are about 6 months.
00:25So, last year alone, in 2025, we had 31 cheetah cubs that came in.
00:31The year before, we only had two.
00:34Across the horn of Africa, only about 600 cheetahs are believed to remain in the wild,
00:40their survival threatened by trafficking networks.
00:44Well, it breaks my heart, obviously, that the cubs are taken from their mother, most of them die.
00:51Cheetahs play a really important role in the health of the ecosystem.
00:54They have a job to do out there.
00:56They are not a pet.
00:57They are a wild animal.
00:58Here in Somaliland, we have no national parks.
01:00We're trying to work with the government on protected areas and other partners
01:05to try to find places where we could develop,
01:09where the cheetahs eventually could go back out into the wild.
01:12But we cannot do that yet.
01:13Many cubs are captured in Somaliland or neighboring countries,
01:17then smuggled across the Gulf of Eden toward wealthy buyers.
01:21Last five years, we arrested and to succeed,
01:2618 persons smuggling for the cheetah and 27 cheetah.
01:35Despite authorities stepping up efforts to stop the trade,
01:39conservationists warned that without stronger protections and safe habitats,
01:43the species face an uncertain future,
01:46with some populations at risk of disappearing altogether.
01:49Get up.
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