Injured cheetah caught roaming Abu Dhabi residential district

A nine-month-old cheetah was found chasing a rooster as it roamed the streets of Karama in Abu Dhabi on Sunday morning. One of the residents who saw the cheetah with a thick chain around its neck, immediately contacted the Abu Dhabi Police and an animal activist, Raghad Auttabashi, founder and a volunteer of the Al Rahma Animal Welfare and Rescue Society.

"The cheetah's left front leg was badly injured, and it looked dehydrated, skinny and malnourished. I just hope that the cheetah's previous owner did not de-claw it, otherwise that would be highly inhumane," said Raghad. The cheetah was immediately transferred to the ADWC, where it received plenty of water, food and vitamins.



Ronel Smutts, the director of the ADWC, said that upon reaching the centre, the cheetah was dehydrated, hungry and traumatised. "The animal was obviously privately owned by one of the villa owners in Karama, and did not get enough exercise nor the proper food, calcium and vitamins it requires. When it first arrived, it couldn't put any weight on its left front leg. For now we gave the cheetah pain medication, and want it to get plenty of love and rest," said Smutts.

The injured leg could have been a result of the cheetah jumping over a fence as it tried to catch its prey (the rooster), assumed Smutts. Being an endangered species, the cheetah comes under Cites (Convention on the Illegal Trade of Endangered Species).Offenders could face fines of between Dh5,000, (£825, $1360), and Dh50,000 and a jail term of between three and six months.