Cheetahs are the fastest land animals, capable of reaching 110 km/h. Their need to sprint, stalk, and hunt over open terrain makes them especially vulnerable to habitat loss and presents unique welfare challenges in captivity.
Cheetah welfare in the wild is increasingly threatened by habitat fragmentation, which restricts the long-distance movement essential for hunting and territory establishment. When prey becomes scarce due to human encroachment, cheetahs may attempt riskier hunts or target livestock, leading to human-wildlife conflict and retaliatory killing. In captivity, the cheetah's unique physiology and temperament create significant welfare challenges: they are easily stressed by confinement, social disruption, and unfamiliar stimuli. Captive cheetahs commonly develop stereotypic pacing, gastric ulcers linked to chronic stress, and reproductive failure. Conservation programmes have found that pairing cheetahs with companion dogs reduces stress and improves welfare outcomes — a rare successful use of interspecies bonding. Ensuring wild cheetahs have connected corridors of open habitat is the most important intervention for both conservation and welfare.