THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY, COMAND PROTECTING THE WONDER OF OUR WORLD, FUNDED EXPLORER MITTED TO ILLUMINATINGNICHOLE SOBECKI AND EXPLORER TIMOTHY SPALLA’S WORK. NAT GEO KIDS (^13)
Tracking Astur
The people are part of a team of wildlife
conservationists who work to stop
smugglers from selling cheetahs in
Somaliland, an independent region in
the East African country of Somalia. The
rescuers heard about Astur from infor-
mants who keep a lookout for animals
that are being trafficked, or illegally
traded, in the area. The conservationists
learned that Astur had been stolen from
the wild and might soon be sold to a
wildlife trafficker. Then that trafficker
would sell the cheetah as a pet.
Many people in Somaliland don’t know
that taking cubs from the wild is against
the law. People there who attempt to
sell the cats are often trying to make
extra money for their families and
AFTER BEING
RESCUED FROM
WILDLIFE
TRAFFICKERS,
FIVE SIX-WEEK-
OLD CHEETAHS
KEEP WARM
IN FRONT OF
A HEATER.
ASTUR THE
CHEETAH IS
EXAMINED
FOR INJURIES.
TISSUES IN HIS
EARS AND AN EYE
MASK HELP KEEP
HIM CALM.
ASTUR THE
CHEETAH CUB
PEEKS OUT OF
A CRATE AT
RESCUERS.
VETERINARIANS
EXAMINE A
THREE-WEEK-OLD
LEOPARD THAT WAS
RESCUED AT THE
SAME TIME
AS ASTUR.
protect their goat herds
from the predators. The
rescuers hope they can
convince the man trying
to sell Astur to give the
cat to them instead of a
pet smuggler.
“Sometimes sellers do the right
thing and give up the animals when
asked,” says National Geographic
Explorer Timothy Spalla, who is working
to end the cheetah trade in Africa
and the Middle East.
But before the team can talk to the
seller, he drives away. He did know that
having a cub was illegal and is afraid of
being arrested. But the police quickly
catch up to the vehicle and hand Astur
over to the rescuers.
Check-Up Time
Veterinarian Asma Bile Hersi tries to
treat the cub as soon as he’s picked
up by the team. She checks him as best
she can for obvious injuries like open
wounds and broken bones. At about
seven months old, Astur is older than
most cheetah cubs Hersi has treated—
and much fiercer.
“The people who were keeping him
didn’t feed him very well,” Hersi says.
“He was hungry, so that’s why he was
fighting everyone.”
Hersi and the others
want to get Astur to
Hargeysa, Somaliland’s
capital, so the anxious
cub can get a full
medical examination.
Cheetah
brothers often
stay together for life.
A female is usually
solitary until she
has cubs.