Cheetah Walks over to Photographer for a Head Rub During Photo Shoot

In the article they mentioned this photographer works with sanctuaries and reserves. I think it’s very likely he is in a sanctuary with animals that grew up as exotic pets and cannot be rehabilitated to the wild. Cheetahs are not Big Cats (genus Panthera) in terms of their taxonomy, notably, they purr and cannot roar. They are remarkably similar to house cats in disposition, behavior, and ability to bond with humans.

Humans have been trying to domesticate the cheetah for a long time but have continued to fail because we cannot meet their needs. It doesn’t help that they socialize well with people and have high emotional intelligence, but this is a tragic fluke because in the end they are wild animals.