Smuggling in Africa and Middle East Threatens Cheetahs.
KINKADE: Welcome back. Investigation that you'll see only on CNN. The demand for pet cheetahs is driving the big cast to the brink of extinction. Our Jomana Karadsheh traveled to the main thoroughfare of cheetah trafficking in east Africa and filed this exclusive report.</s>JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Barely a couple of weeks old, Goalless is clearly in desperate need of his mother. But this orphan cheetah is one of the lucky ones, rescued from the illegal wildlife trade. Across the Horn of Africa, if the mothers aren't killed, the cubs are snatched from them, smuggled in cramped crates and cardboard boxes. By the time they get to the shelter, they're barely alive. According to the Cheetah Conservation Fund, some 300 cubs are smuggled out of this region every year. And for everyone that makes it into captivity, another three die on the way. (on camera): That valley down there is becoming known as the cheetah supermarket. That's because many of the trafficked cheetahs are being smuggled across this porous border with Ethiopia into Somaliland. (voice-over): This breakaway state from Somalia is the main transit route for the traffic cats out of the Horn of Africa. Smuggled across the Gulf of Aden to the Arabian Peninsula. The survivors of the rough journey become an exotic accessory like designer bling. As rich Gulf Arabs compete for social media clicks. At least 1,000 cheetahs are estimated to be in private hands and Gulf states. According to experts, most die within a year or two in captivity. Although private ownership and trading of wildlife is banned in most Gulf states, enforcement is lax. (on camera): Illegal online sales are starting to be policed. But if you really want a cheetah, they're not hard to find. This is an online Saudi marketplace, and when we search for cheetahs, several listings came up some advertising two to three old Cheetos, other selling young cubs. (voice-over): This man in Saudi Arabia is eager to sell.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE, (translation text): Whatever cheetah you want. You want male, you want female, it's not an issue. From Africa we import through a website with a guy and we have another Saudi trader. I got more than 80 from them.</s>KARADSHEH: $6,600 U.S. seems to be the starting online price in Saudi Arabia. The Saudi government did not respond to CNN's repeated requests for comment. There are only 7,500 cheetahs left worldwide, half the number from just a decade ago.</s>LAURIE MARKER, FOUNDER, CHEETAH CONSERVATION FUND: People who have a cheetah as a pet are causing the species to go extinct. It's leading the way towards extinction. Mr. Bottle is one of the favorite toys that we found.</s>KARADSHEH: American biologist Laurie Marker and her Cheetah Conservation Fund are racing to save this species from extinction.</s>MARKER: This is not how a baby cheetah should be living. They need to be living out in the wild.</s>KARADSHEH: They set up this safe house in Somaliland for the rescues. It's bursting at the seams.</s>MARKER: Seeing them in here, it breaks my heart.</s>KARADSHEH: You can see why people call them cats that cry.</s>MARKER: It's our responsibility to give them the very best care that they can have and to try to save every single one of them.</s>KARADSHEH: 10-month-old Kitty is in intensive care. The last survivor of three sisters.</s>MARKER: She is not one of our healthiest cats. And it probably does have a lot to do with the way she started in life.</s>KARADSHEH: Despite the team's efforts, Kitty didn't make it.</s>MARKER: These animals are a smaller population, very rare population. And from that, each one of them do carry a different genetic code. This one is a male.</s>KARADSHEH: Every club gets microchipped. Their DNA is recorded. Without a mother that has to be taught how to hunt and survive in the wild.</s>MARKER: It takes sometimes months to try to get one cheetah to get on its feet.</s>KARADSHEH: Neju Jimmy, a soon to be vet is their main caregiver.</s>NEJU JIMMY, STUDENT VETERINARIAN: I love them so much that I don't even see my mom once a week. She lives over there.</s>KARADSHEH: According to Marker, there are only about 300 adults in unprotected areas in the Horn of Africa.</s>MARKER: If you do your math, the math kind of shows that it's only going to be a matter of a couple years that we're not going to have any cheetahs in this region left.</s>KARADSHEH: Many have already been lost to conflict with humans. Somaliland wildlife authorities are busting traffickers. It's illegal here along with private ownership. But in the capital, Hargeisa, a popular restaurant advertises burgers and captive lions pacing in the background for selfies. For three years, this cheetah on a short rope has been the star attraction for paying clients to pet, poke, and pose with. The owner insists it's legal.</s>ABDIRASHIQ ALI MOHAMED, OWNER, LION RESTAURANT: Yes, we have the license to keep these animals. And plus, this guy, he's -- there's only one cheetah here, and he has lot of space to run around.</s>KARADSHEH: Why it was tolerated in plain sight went unanswered by the authorities. More are hidden behind walls. (on camera): Even as we're leaving Somaliland, two more cheetahs have been confiscated from a house here in Hargeisa. (voice-over): Three more were seized just a few days later. As long as there's a demand by the rich, creating a lucrative trade for the poor, the cheetah's future hangs in the balance. Time is not on their side. Jomana Karadsheh, CNN, Hargeisa, Somaliland.