Is it true wild cheetahs have never killed humans?

It has long been alleged that there are no verified cases of wild cheetahs killing humans, with social media users and multiple publications all making the claim.

For example, on Dec. 25, 2025, a popular Instagram account posted the rumor (archived), saying, in part, “There are no documented cases of a wild cheetah ever killing a human.” The claim has widely circulated on social media platforms such as Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, TikTok and X.

(@jerryscience accessed via Instagram)

Searches of historical books and newspaper archives found stories alleging cheetahs — both wild and captive — have killed humans. For example, some 19th century newspaper articles reported on purported cases of wild cheetahs killing humans in Bangladesh and India, whereas captive cheetahs have taken lives on very rare occasions in recent decades.

It was not possible to independently verify whether the 19th century newspaper archive examples of wild cheetahs killing humans were factually true. At times, some of the dated articles grouped cheetahs with leopards or panthers, raising questions about whether a journalist or person reporting the killings potentially confused another animal for a cheetah. Due to these reasons, we have not rated this claim.

Snopes contacted the Cheetah Conservation Fund to ask about the rumor — as well as to gain expert insight into the history of humans and wild cheetahs — and we will update this article if we receive further information.

The Cheetah Conservation Fund hosts a wealth of information about cheetahs. The organization says the species is Africa’s most endangered big cat, with fewer than 7,500 remaining in the wild worldwide.

Researching alleged wild cheetah attacks

Searches of the newspaper archives on both the British Newspaper Archive and Newspapers.com located a handful of journalists reporting about cases of wild cheetahs killing humans in the 1800s, including one instance from the early 20th century. While the deaths are not in question, credible proof is lacking in order to conclusively name the animals involved in the killings. Some articles featured the names of other spotted animals right alongside cheetahs, grouping them together. One account named (archived) an alleged cheetah killing as, “cheetah (leopard).”

As such, we treat the following stories of wild cheetah-caused killings as unproven accounts.

For example, in September 1871, the London-based Pall Mall Gazette reported “the number of persons killed by wild beasts during the past year” under the Madras Presidency, at the time a British-controlled Indian state. The article said there were 21 human deaths “by cheetahs and panthers” — coupling the two species into one category — including 11 by cheetahs in one district alone. The writer made a point of comparing the number of deaths versus deaths from cab horses on London’s streets (bolded emphasis ours):

The return of the number of persons killed by wild beasts during the past year in the Madras Presidency has lately been made up, from which it appears that 183 persons were killed by tigers, twenty-one by cheetahs and panthers, seven by bears, ten by bisons, five by wild hogs, four by elephants, and three by alligators. Tigers are the most destructive in Ganjam, Vizagapatam, Jeypore, Kurnool, and Coimbatore. It is considered satisfactory that there have been no deaths by tigers in Canara during the year under review. Seven persons were killed by tigers in that district in 1869 and eleven in 1868. It is well to be thankful for small blessings, and it is only natural that the residents in Canara should be gratified at the immunity they have enjoyed during the year 1870 from the tiger-plague, but there is still room for improvement in that district, for eleven persons were killed by cheetahs in Canara in the course of twelve months.

All this slaughter by wild beasts sounds very horrible to English ears, but it is really far more horrible to reflect that more people are killed annually in the streets of London by horses than are killed by tigers in the Presidency of Madras. Cab horses are far more destructive than cheetahs, and there are few districts in the metropolis which can boast like Canara that only eleven deaths have occurred from one class of beast during the year, for van horses and “light cart” horses claim with cab horses the privilege of killing us, and between them all the generous animals, with the assistance of their drivers, make up a very respectable bill of mortality—not far, if at all, behind the little account periodically rendered by the wild beasts of Madras.

The article did not provide further details about the reported killings by cheetahs and panthers. Regarding the journalist’s mention of panthers, the similar name Panthera — a genus of large cats — includes jaguars, leopards, lions, snow leopards and tigers.

In 1879, the Madras-based Madras Weekly Mail reported similar data for the years 1877 through 1878, saying leopards and cheetahs — coupled together — killed a total of 74 humans, as well as around 3,900 cattle. An 1881 article from the British Clevedon Mercury and Courier (archived) said that leopards and cheetahs caused a total of 44 human deaths and slightly more than 3,300 cattle deaths for the year 1880. Both reports mentioned the government paying hunters rewards in rupees for the “destruction” of numerous wild-animal species, cheetahs included.

Newspaper archives also offered specifics regarding several cases. For example, an 1872 incident reportedly involved a cheetah entering a sugar-cane garden (archived) in the former Madras Indian state, in which the animal killed two men and wounded others. Other deadly occurrences in 1887 (archived) and 1929 (archived) mentioned cheetahs in Bangladesh and India killing numerous people, the latter featuring young boys attempting to chase a “cheetah (leopard)” out from under a tree.

Fatal and nonfatal attacks from captive cheetahs

Aside from the primary discussion point about wild cheetahs, the searches of Newspapers.com also yielded numerous stories of captive cheetahs allegedly attacking humans.

For example, in March 1913, the English Devon and Exeter Gazette (archived) reported a nonfatal incident in Ireland, in which a cheetah, “which had evidently escaped from its captors,” attacked a man and his dog. The man used a stick to kill the animal.

In March 1923, the English Leicester Daily Mercury (archived) published the case of a circus cheetah escaping from its cage and attacking an eight-year-old boy, who later died.

In February 1969, a cheetah leapt from a yacht in Miami (archived), mauled a 9-year-old boy and chased after a policeman actively riding his motorcycle. According to the story, the officer successfully shot the cheetah. Other officers then fatally wounded the animal after it retreated into a service building. (The Cheetah Conservation Fund strongly discourages keeping cheetahs as pets, saying the animal needs specialized diets, expensive veterinary care and huge amounts of space to run and exercise to remain healthy, and also sheds “copious amounts of hair” and expels strong-smelling urine and feces.)

In April 1994, an escaped cheetah pounced on an 8-year-old boy (archived) at the Jackson Zoo in Jackson, Mississippi. The incident ended without a fatality, with a hospital treating the boy, and zookeepers sedating the animal.

In December 1998, a cheetah escaped its enclosure at a French zoo and mauled to death a 3-year-old boy (archived) despite his father’s efforts to intervene.

In February 2007, cheetahs mauled to death (archived) “animal lover” Karen Aerts, 37, after she entered a cage at a Belgium zoo. The article said, “Authorities believe Aerts, a regular visitor to the zoo, hid in the park late Sunday until it closed and found the keys to the cheetah cage.”

In May 2012, cheetahs allegedly attacked a woman (archived) while inside a “petting pen” at a game reserve in South Africa. The woman, who survived, later told a newspaper the cheetahs “weren’t being vicious” and “were just excited.”

For further reading, we previously reported on a photo allegedly showing an impala who allowed herself to be captured by cheetahs so her offspring could escape.

Sources