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Cheetah
The cheetah is widely known as the planet’s fastest land animal, but unknown to many, it is also Africa’s most threatened big cat. Today, there are estimated to be fewer than 10,000 cheetahs left in the wild.
The State of the Cheetah
There are estimated to be fewer than 10,000 cheetahs left in the wild, and their future remains uncertain across their range. Extinct in 25 countries and possibly extinct in a further 13 countries, cheetahs have vanished from approximately 80 percent of their historic range in Africa. They are extinct in Asia apart from a single, isolated population of perhaps 50 individuals in central Iran.
 
Cheetahs are listed as "Vulnerable" by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species. In North Africa and Asia, they are considered "Critically Endangered."
 
The species is threatened by conflict with local people, the illegal wildlife trade, legal sport hunting, and loss of prey due to overhunting by people and agricultural land developments.
 
Download our Cheetah Fact Sheet to learn more about the cheetah.
"I think my favorite fact about the cheetah is probably the calculation that showed that a legless cheetah could reach a speed of 15 kmh [9 mph] merely by ‘caterpillaring’- bunching and uncoiling its incredibly flexible spine. That’s about three times as fast as the typical walking speed of a human." - Dr. Luke Hunter, President, Panthera
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Primary Threat:
Human-Cheetah Conflict
Cheetahs have been extirpated from 80% of their historic range due to threats including human-cheetah conflict.
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All Threats
Threats Facing the Cheetah
As humans develop wild habitats, cheetahs and humans come in increasingly closer contact. Livestock replace the cheetah’s natural prey, fueling human-cheetah conflict in which cheetahs are killed in retaliation for livestock predation or because of their perceived threat to human livelihood.

Conflict is an issue between humans and predators wherever the two coexist, although the cheetah is the least dangerous of the big cats. Unlike most big cats, the actual damage cheetahs cause to livestock is considered to be relatively minor.

Nevertheless, herders – whose livelihoods depend on their cattle, goats and other animals – will often kill cheetahs preemptively to keep them from preying on their livestock, or in retribution for cases of predation.

Cheetah populations are also profoundly affected by loss of prey due to overhunting by humans, and the development of wild habitat for agricultural and other purposes.

Direct hunting in some parts of Africa for skins and legal sport hunting also contributes to cheetah population declines, as does the illegal trade in live cubs and adults, many of which die during transport.
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Cat facts
Cheetah
Acinonyx jubatus
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IUCN Red List Status
Left in the Wild
Less than 10,000; Nearly 50 in Iran
Range
23 African countries and 1 Asian country
Sub-species
2
Life span
Serengeti females live an average of 6.2 years (13.5 max); males live an average of 5.3 years (9.3 max)
Size
Head and body: 105-140 cm; 41-55 in Tail: 60-89 cm; 23-35 in
Weight
21-64 kg; 46-141 lbs
Diet
Typically small herbivores (e.g., impala, gazelle, steenbok) and occasionally larger prey (e.g., wildebeest)
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Zambia; Iran
Cheetah
Secure homes for the cheetah across its range
Cheetah Program
Panthera’s Cheetah Program aims to protect cheetahs by addressing direct threats to them, their prey base, and their habitats. To do this, Panthera gathers critical ecological data by surveying and monitoring populations and their prey, collaborating with local law enforcement officials and partners, and working with local communities to mitigate conflict and create cheetah-positive landscapes within communities. Panthera’s approach to protecting cheetahs has a dual focus: developing a program in Africa that can eventually be expanded across the cheetah’s African range and focusing on the small remaining population of Asiatic cheetahs in Iran. 
Learn More About the Cheetah Program
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Simone Friedman
Head of Philanthropy, Emanuel J Friedman Philanthropies
Emanuel J Friedman Philanthropies is proud to partner with Panthera on its work to save the cheetah. Cheetah conservation is one of our core priorities, and Panthera’s collaborative approach fits perfectly with our strategic vision.
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