Cheetahs are high-strung cats, nervous in temperament. They have to be, given their relatively small size, and their high-risk environment. This nervous temperament translates to low fertility rates in captivity, only 1 in 5 captive cheetahs are fertile- 18% for males, and 23% for females.
Some cheetahs seem to react to humans in a positive manner. I met one such cheetah. Our zoo had acquired two wild cheetahs, and was holding them off display. I tracked them down, in a remote corner of the zoo. One cheetah was pacing, panting, the other was laying down against the chain link fence.
I scrambled up the hill to their enclosure, wanting to know what cheetah fur felt like. I lightly touched the fur, and the cheetah leaned into the fence, allowing me to scratch behind its ear. To my surprise, it purred. I stole a few seconds of pleasure, hearing that purr, before I left the cheetahs in peace. I have always wondered if the purring cheetah was a relinquished pet, rather than a wild caught cheetah.
Most cheetahs are like the pacing, panting cheetah, not the purring one. Avoidant, reactive if put in an uncomfortable situation, such as an unfamiliar person in their space. An unfamiliar person may cause an attack, I have seen video of a reporter getting swatted and bit by an “okay to be around” cheetah.
The Smithsonian is studying how to make cheetahs less stressed in captivity, as a less stressed cheetah is potentially a more fertile cheetah. One of their findings has to do with exposure to people, the less the better. This goes for the public, and the keepers. The maximum number a cheetah is comfortable with, keeperwise, is three.
Go online and look up cheetah attacks on people. At zoos, rehabbers, petting parks. While a cheetah attack is survivable, it is an abject expression of “I don’t want you near me” by the cheetah, the cat who feels so stressed that an attack, rather than advoidence, is its only option.
Yes, cheetahs can be forced into a pet type role. Some cheetahs may find this acceptable, most cheetahs will live sad, shortened lives, chained in a corner as an ornament, or as a prize on display. Cheetah ambassadors at zoos are painstakingly desensitized to noise and movement. Most cheetahs are unsuitable to the training program, many more wash out, never losing their innate nervousness.
From a cheetah’s point of view, eyes trained on it is a threat. Lions, leopards, hyenas, wild dogs, and jackals all prey on cheetahs and/or their cubs, all have forward facing eyes, like we do. To be stared at is to be in danger. Dozens of zoo visitors eyes, all trained on the cheetah, is one factor in captive cheetahs’ stress levels. High stress leads to low fertility, it is believed.
Cheetahs are rapidly approaching another disastrous bottleneck in their gene pool. The booming demand of the pet trade, coupled with habitat loss is depleting their numbers. Most zoos lack the space for expansive, off display breeding setups. The pet/petting zoo trade must be shut down. Breeding programs, in Africa and elsewhere, that do not monetize the cheetah must be supported. 2030 is just around the corner, it is estimated the cheetah will be extinct by then.
