Cheetahs in captivity face unique welfare challenges including chronic stress-related health problems, and progressive zoos are implementing specialized management approaches to address them.
Cheetahs are among the zoo species with the most documented welfare challenges in captivity. Their extreme sensitivity to stress, resulting from their evolutionary history as prey-vulnerable predators, means that even well-designed zoo environments can produce chronic psychological stress. Successful cheetah welfare management requires individualized care including companion animal pairing for socially incompatible individuals, regular opportunities for high-speed locomotion, extensive olfactory enrichment, and careful management of visitor density and proximity. Facilities that have adopted the companion dog model report substantially improved welfare indicators and breeding success. The cheetah is an important example of a species requiring significant species-specific welfare knowledge for successful captive management.