Alarm bells sounded for cheetahs - only 7100 remain in the wilds of Africa

The population of cheetahs is on the decline and, like many other wildlife species in Africa, conservationists have sounded alarm bells for the cheetah - it is the fastest animal on land. It seems there are an estimated 7,100 of them that remain in the wild across Africa and in a small area of Iran.
Human encroachment has pushed the wide-ranging predator out of 91 percent of its historic habitat. Therefore, the animal should be defined as "endangered" instead of the less serious "vulnerable".
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 27 Decmber 2016.

The decline in population of the cheetah can be attributed to a number of factors like habitat loss, attacks from villagers, loss of antelope and other prey that are killed by people for their meat, an illegal trade in cheetah cubs, the trafficking of cheetah skins and the threat of getting hit by speeding vehicles.
More than half of the world's cheetahs live in southern Africa, including in Namibia and Botswana. These have relatively less human populations. These animals have been virtually wiped out in Asia, except of fewer than 50 in Iran. The cheetah population in Zimbabwe has gone down from an estimated 1,500 in 1999 to between 150 and 170 in 2013-2015 - this is based on a survey conducted between 2013 and 2015.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org

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