Image copyright ZSL Image caption Protected parks and reserves for cheetahs are not sufficient as the animal ranges far beyond these areas

The sleek, speedy cheetah is rapidly heading towards extinction according to a new study into declining numbers. While renowned for its speed and spots, the degree of persecution cheetahs face both inside and outside of protected areas is largely unrecognised, said the study that estimated the number of cheetahs left in the wild today to be just 7,100. To fully recognise the scale of the threat that the cheetah now faces, the report is calling on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to change the categorisation of the fastest animal on its Red List from vulnerable to endangered. Asiatic populations have been hit the hardest with fewer than 50 individuals surviving in Iran, according to a new investigation led by the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) and Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS). The researchers pointed out that even within guarded parks and reserves, cheetahs rarely escape the pervasive threats of human-wildlife conflict, prey loss due to overhunting by people, habitat loss and the illegal trafficking of cheetah parts and trade as exotic pets. Indeed, largely due to pressures on wildlife and their habitat outside of protected areas, Zimbabwe's cheetah population has plummeted from 1,200 to a maximum of 170 animals in just 16 years -- representing an astonishing loss of 85 per cent of the country's cheetahs, said the study. “Given the secretive nature of this elusive cat, it has been difficult to gather hard information on the species, leading to its plight being overlooked,” said Sarah Durant, the report’s lead author and project leader for the Rangewide Conservation Programme for Cheetah and African Wild Dog. Our findings show that the large space requirements for the cheetah, coupled with the complex range of threats faced by the species in the wild, mean that it is likely to be much more vulnerable to extinction than was previously thought.

 Another of the big concerns about cheetahs has been the illegal trafficking of cubs, fuelled by demand from the Gulf states. "The take-away from this pinnacle study is that securing protected areas alone is not enough," said Kim Young-Overton, Cheetah Programme Director of Panthera, a non-profit organisation devoted exclusively to the conservation of the world's wild cats. We must think bigger, conserving across the mosaic of protected and unprotected landscapes that these far-reaching cats inhabit, if we are to avert the otherwise certain loss of the cheetah forever.

 The report has been published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The journal the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences publishes research from the Zoological Society of London that the cheetah population approaches extinction with only 7,100 individuals left alive in the wild as a result of a sudden crash in population.