Urgent action is needed to stop the cheetah - the world's fastest land animal - sprinting to extinction, experts have warned.
Scientists estimate that just 7,100 of the fleet-footed cats remain in the wild, occupying just 9% of the territory they once lived in.
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).
Even within well-managed parks and reserves the cats have suffered as a result of humans hunting their prey, habitat loss, illegal trafficking
of cheetah parts, and
the exotic pet trade, say the researchers writing in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
In Zimbabwe these pressures have seen the cheetah population plunge from 1,200 to a maximum of only 170 animals in 16 years, a decline of 85%.
The experts want to see a completely new approach to cheetah conservation focusing on the landscape that transcends national borders and incorporates co-ordinated regional strategies. (source: Telegraph Reporters)
the exotic pet trade, say the researchers writing in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
In Zimbabwe these pressures have seen the cheetah population plunge from 1,200 to a maximum of only 170 animals in 16 years, a decline of 85%.
The experts want to see a completely new approach to cheetah conservation focusing on the landscape that transcends national borders and incorporates co-ordinated regional strategies. (source: Telegraph Reporters)
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