Me And My Cheetah: Rescued Big Cat One of the family

By Mark Hodge @Mrhodgey

A FRIENDLY cheetah lives like a dog around a family’s home - going for walks on a leash and even getting rides in their car

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Videographer / Director: Earth Touch
Producer: Nick Johnson
Editor: Sonia Estal

Unruly passenger: Widlife expert Elizke Gouws waits for her cheetah Yakira to emerge from the car for a walk

Unusual footage shot in 2012 shows how Yakira, a domesticated big cat, prowls around the ranch run by wildlife experts Desmond and Elizke Gouws - who love watching TV with the big kitty.

Yakira looks to the camera as she roams free in the huge Nambiti Game Reserve

Yakira broke her hip as a cub when her mother accidentally sat on her and was taken in by the Kwa Cheetah Project at Nambiti Game Reserve, South Africa,

Wildlife experts Desmond and Elizke Gouws inspect two rescued cheetahs at the Kwa Cheetah Project

While the project rehabilitates animals and eventually introduces them back into the wild, the four-year-old cheetah would not survive if released.

Four-year-old cheetah Yakira, who broke her hip when her mother sat on her when she was a cub, will never be released back into the wild

Instead, she serves as a the project ambassador and helps educate school children about the importance of conservation.

A group of rescued cheetahs enjoy feeding time at the Kwa Cheetah Project

The young cheetah had an unconventional upbringing and was raised alongside dogs Sailor and Gina, and also the family's feisty meerkat Zulu, on the Gouws' huge game reserve.