While cheetahs are fast, they are small compared to most other large carnivores, which they prefer to avoid. They are adapted to survive competition from larger predators but face several artificial threats and require intensive management and conservation. Luckily, nature enthusiasts worldwide are driving conservation initiatives to save this iconic species.
The fastest land mammals
Cheetahs are famous as the fastest land mammals, reaching speeds of up to 100 km/h. They rely on their speed to hunt prey over short distances. They prefer small to medium-sized ungulates, such as gazelle and impala, but they also hunt birds, small mammals, and occasionally livestock.
They can live in various habitats, including forests, scrublands, grasslands, and deserts. To maintain a viable, genetically diverse population, they need large areas of habitat with sufficient prey and enough space to allow them to avoid larger predators.
Cheetahs are very sensitive to competition from larger carnivores, such as lions, hyenas, and leopards. They lose up to 10% of their kills to larger carnivores. To reduce competition, cheetahs hunt during the day and actively avoid areas with high densities of larger predators.
Additionally, larger predators often prey on cheetah cubs. To deter predators, cheetah cubs have grey hair on their backs to look like honey badgers. Cheetah cubs stay with their mother for about 18 months until they are competent hunters. The female siblings will move away on their own, while the male siblings will remain together in a coalition.
Conservation status
Cheetahs are listed as vulnerable (1) based on their small population size (6,500 mature individuals) and their continuing decline. Historically, cheetahs were widespread across Africa and southwestern Asia. Cheetahs have declined drastically in western, central, and northern Africa. Most of the remaining cheetahs live in eastern and southern Africa.
Their biggest threat is habitat loss and fragmentation. Small, fragmented populations are at risk of inbreeding. Most cheetahs live in unprotected areas. Increased habitat transformation in unprotected regions leads to increased conflict with livestock and game farmers, significantly when natural prey species get depleted. Retaliatory killings, bycatch in bushmeat snares, road collisions, and poaching for the pet trade or for their coats are also a threat to cheetah conservation.
Conservation action
The Africa Range-Wide Cheetah Conservation Initiative have conservation projects throughout Africa to protect cheetah populations (2). These include human-wildlife mitigation strategies, education and awareness projects, and population surveys.
There was an attempt to introduce the African cheetah into India to compensate for the extinction of the Asian cheetah in India several decades before (3). The scientific community hotly debated this decision (4,5), especially since the African cheetah is a different subspecies to the Asian cheetah that originally occurred in India.
From 2022 to 2023, 20 cheetahs were relocated from Namibia and South Africa to India. Eight out of the 20 cheetahs died. Seventeen cubs were born in India, of which five died. The remaining cheetahs were recaptured and are now being kept in enclosures.
However, the Indian government considers Project Cheetah a success and is currently in talks with Kenya and South Africa to bring in more cheetahs (6).
Other reintroduction projects have been more successful. Between June 2017 and February 2018, EWT’s Cheetah Range Expansion Project, together with African Parks, reintroduced seven individual cheetahs (three females and four males) to Liwonde National Park after cheetahs went extinct in Malawi 20 years ago (8).
The population has since increased to 21 individuals. Recently, two female cheetahs from South Africa were released in Liwonde, and three males were translocated from Liwonde to South Africa to increase the genetic diversity of cheetahs in southern Africa. Since then, the Cheetah Range Expansion project has reintroduced cheetah to other nature reserves in Malawi, Zambia, and Mozambique (9).
In conclusion
The IUCN has identified the cheetah as a species that will go extinct without intensive conservation initiatives and population management. Their survival depends on the success of conservation and metapopulation projects. Since most of their populations are small, genetic management is essential to prevent inbreeding. Their broad ranges mean that international coordination and cooperation are critical to preserving their habitat, exchanging individuals to maintain genetic diversity and reintroducing cheetahs into their previous range.
References
- Durant, S.M., Groom, R., Ipavec, A., Mitchell, N. & Khalatbari, L. 2024. Acinonyx jubatus (amended version of 2023 assessment). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2024: e.T219A259025524. Accessed on 31 October 2024.
- Africa Range-Wide Cheetah Conservation Initiative.
- Jumana Shah & Rahul Noronha. 28 Oct 2024. India Today. Cheetahs in India – In a spot of trouble.
- Tordiffe, A.S.W., Jhala, Y.V., Boitani, L. et al. The case for the reintroduction of cheetahs to India. Nat Ecol Evol 7, 480–481 (2023).
- Gopalaswamy, A.M., Khalatbari, L., Chellam, R. et al. Introducing African cheetahs to India is an ill-advised conservation attempt. Nat Ecol Evol 6, 1794–1795 (2022).
- The Indian Express. 14 September 2024. Two years of Project Cheetah: India awaits Kenya’s approval for new batch.
- Qamar Qureshi, Bipin C.M., Uttam K. Sharma, G.S. Bhardwaj, Amit Mallick, S.P. Yadav, Aseem Shrivastav, Subharanjan Sen & Virendra R. Tiwari (eds) 2024. Bringing back the cheetah to India- Annual Progress Report 2023-2024, National Tiger Conservation Authority, Government of India, New Delhi, Madhya Pradesh Forest Department, Bhopal and Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun. TR No/2024/25.
- Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT). First cheetah swop in the EWT-led Cheetah Range Expansion Project.
- EWT. Carnivore Conservation Programme,
A FGASA and CATHSSETA-qualified Professional Field Guide Course.
Immerse yourself in the African wilderness, expand your knowledge, and embark on a transformative learning experience with EcoTraining.
Sign up for the 1-year Professional Field Guide Course today!
For more information on the 1-year Professional Field Guide Course, contact [email protected] or call +27 (0)13 7522532
Spending time with playful cheetah cubs
To see a cheetah in the African wilderness is an incredible sighting on its own, but to encounter them on foot is a different experience altogether. Watch this video as the group of students spent some time watching playful cheetah cubs and their mom from a safe distance at Karongwe game reserve.
