The cheetah, the fastest animal on the planet, is sprinting towards extinction as numbers plunge due to poaching, loss of habitat and illegal trafficking of parts. In Zimbabwe the number of cheetahs has fallen by 85 per cent in 16 years. India was home to this animal, but the last cat was killed in 1947. A study published in the ‘Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences’ estimated that only 7,100 cheetahs remain in the wild. At the beginning of the 20th century there were about 100,000 cheetahs. The timid nature of the cheetah makes it vulnerable to other more aggressive animals. Although it can reach speeds of up to 70 miles per hour, the chase leaves it exhausted and defenseless. This cat is elusive and secretive and requires large habitats to survive. Every advance made by man encroaches on this habitat and reduces the space required for the cheetah to survive in the wild. The future of humans and animal species are interdependent and a world with only humans would not be sustainable. Hence it becomes the burden of humans to ensure that animal species survive in the wild. The authors of the report have urged that the cheetah be declared as endangered in the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Registered List of Threatened Species. This could be a promising start.
