Wildlife experts say that the cheetah, the world’s fastest land animal, is at serious risk of extinction. The Zoological Society of London (ZSL) is pushing for the cheetah to be classified as endangered, alongside species like tigers and Asian elephants, as only around 7,000 cheetahs remain worldwide.
These remarkable big cats, capable of reaching speeds up to 70 mph, now occupy just 9% of the land they once roamed.
A collaborative study by ZSL, the Wildlife Conservation Society, and Panthera highlights that Asian cheetahs have been hit the hardest.
Fewer than 50 individuals remain, confined to a single isolated region in Iran, possibly a few others surviving in parts of the Indian subcontinent.
The majority of the global cheetah population—over half—lives across six countries in southern Africa.
However, their need for vast territories, spanning nearly 400 square miles, presents significant challenges.
Many wildlife reserves and protected areas are too small to support sustainable populations. The report indicates that only about a third of cheetahs live in protected regions.
Lead researcher Dr. Sarah Durant explained that the cheetah’s secretive nature has made it difficult to gather reliable data, contributing to the species’ plight being overlooked.
“Our research shows that their need for large habitats, coupled with the variety of threats they face, makes them more vulnerable to extinction than previously believed,” said Dr. Durant.
Although estimates of the global cheetah population remain uncertain, data from 18 populations reveal that 14 are in decline. Experts estimate there are only 7,100 cheetahs left.
The study, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, warns that without immediate conservation efforts, cheetahs may disappear entirely.
Currently, the species is listed as vulnerable on the Red List of Threatened Species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
Dr. Kim Young-Overton, director of Panthera’s Cheetah Programme, emphasized the urgency of the situation: “We must protect cheetahs across both protected and unprotected landscapes if we are to prevent their certain extinction.”
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