Cheetah

Range and Conservation Status

Once widespread across Africa and southwest Asia, the global population of cheetah now numbers less than 7000 adult individuals. The species is almost extinct in Asia, and persists only in three tiny populations in Iran, thought to support a total population of substantially less than 50 individuals.

in Africa, cheetah are now only known to occur in 13% of their historic range on the continent. This population is sparsely distributed over more than three million km2, of which only 21% is protected. The African population is increasingly fragmented. Of the 30 known cheetah populations, only seven contain more than 100 individuals, and only two more than 1000. Small populations that remain in double and single digits are all extremely vulnerable to extinction when isolated.

Southern and Eastern Africa are the species strongholds, although there has still been significant range loss in parts of these regions. Current distribution in several countries remains largely unknown (e.g. Sudan, Somalia, Eritrea, Angola, Mozambique and Zambia). Cheetah are known to be extirpated from large areas in Uganda, Tanzania, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Malawi. In some parts of Southern Africa they occur extensively outside protected areas on commercial ranch land where other large predators (lions and hyenas) have been extirpated (e.g. Botswana and Namibia) (Purchase et al. 2007).

POPULATION

Historically, cheetahs roamed across the African continent and across southwestern Asia, excluded only from forest and large expanses of sandy desert. Today cheetah are confined to only 9% of their global range and 13% of their historical African range (Durant et al., 2017). There are estimated to be only 7,100 cheetahs left in the wild, and their future remains uncertain across their range. Of these, approximately 4,300 cheetahs (61%) live in southern Africa and 2,300 cheetahs (32%) in eastern Africa. The remaining 420 cheetahs (7%) live in northern, western and central Africa.

A large proportion of the estimated population (67%) live outside protected areas, on lands used primarily for livestock but also for wild game. Nine of the remaining 30 African populations are trans-boundary, including the two world’s largest populations numbering more than one thousand individuals, requiring international cooperation for their conservation. While transboundary populations represent only one third of cheetah populations, they support a substantial majority (87%) of the African cheetah population.

In comparison with other big cats, cheetah occur at relatively low densities (10-30% of typical densities for lions, leopards, tigers and jaguars in prime habitat: Durant, 2007). In south-eastern Serengeti, cheetah densities average 2.5 individuals per 100 km². However, seasonally cheetah can congregate at high densities in suitable habitats with sufficient prey and where predator numbers are low.

Within protected areas, cheetah densities can be suppressed due to interspecific competition (particularly by lions which often kill cheetah cubs), with a maximum of density of 2.5 per 100km2 reported in the prey (and predator) rich environment of the Serengeti National Park in East Africa. Outside protected areas, where lions may be eradicated, cheetah populations are suppressed instead by the impacts of people, due to direct mortality or because prey populations are low, with densities documented at 0.2 per 100 km² on Namibian farmlands. Most cheetahs are non territorial with large overlapping home ranges of 200-3000km2. Some cheetah males are territorial, holding smaller territories of 40-50km2 as singletons or in small stable coalitions of two or three males. Male coalitions are usually, but not always brothers. Females are solitary once they reach adulthood.

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CHEETAH IN PROTECTED AREAS

POPULATION OF CHEETAHS IN THE WILD

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OF CHEETAHS HAVE VANISHED FROM THEIR HISTORICAL RANGE IN AFRICA

APPROXIMATE NUMBER OF CHEETAHS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA

Physical Characteristics

The cheetah is a large, sleek felid with a light skeletal frame and a slender, long-legged body. They have a small head with high set eyes and a black ‘tear mark’ running from the inner aspect of each eye down to the mouth and large nostrils that allow for increased oxygen intake. They have large lungs and hearts connected to a circulatory system with strong arteries and adrenals that work in tandem to circulate oxygen through their blood very efficiently. Their coat is tan coloured, covered with solid round black spots.

With its long legs and very slender body, the cheetah is quite different from all other cats and is the only member of its genus, Acinonyx. The cheetah’s unique morphology and physiology allow it to attain the extreme speeds for which it’s famous.

The cheetah is the world’s fastest land mammal, and the most unique and specialized member of the cat family. With astonishing powers of acceleration, a cheetah can go from 0 to 60 miles (98 kilometers) an hour in only three seconds; during a chase, they can (briefly) maintain speeds of up to 100 km/hr. They have a long tail that serves as a rudder when they turn corners at high speed.

Cheetah also have exceptionally keen eyesight, which they use to scan their environment for signs of prey. It is believed that the black tear marks help to keep the reflection of the sun out of the cheetahs’ eyes.

Adults measure 43-59 inches (110-150cm) in length measured from the head to the hind quarters. The tail can add a further 24 to 32 inches bringing the total overall length up to 7.5 feet. On average, cheetahs stand 28 to 36 inches tall at the shoulder and weigh between 35 and 60kg. Unlike other cats, cheetah have blunt, semi-retractable claws that serve as a pair of running spikes and provide traction when chasing prey.

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AVERAGE LENGTH OF AN ADULT CHEETAH

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TOP SPEED OF A CHEETAH

Behaviour and Social Structure

Wild cheetah can live to 12 years of age in the wild and up to 20 years in captivity. Females mature at about 24 months, when they may give birth to their first litter, which they raise on their own. Mating occurs throughout the year, the gestation period is 90-95 days and average litter sizes range from 3 to 5 cubs (although up to 8 have been recorded).

Cubs are born with their black spots and a silvery mane that is shed at about 3-4 months of age. During the first two months of their life the cheetah mother leaves her cubs behind in a lair when she goes out to hunt. Cheetah cubs are often killed by larger predators such as lions, spotted hyenas and leopards, and cub mortality can be as high as 95%. The cheetah mothers are not able to defend their cubs against these larger predators.

Cheetah cubs stay with their mother for one and a half to two years, during which time they learn from their mother and practice hunting techniques with playful games. Once the mother leaves the cubs, they often stay together in sibling groups for several months before the males and females go their separate ways.

Cheetah males are often social (live in coalitions) and hold small territories while cheetah females are solitary and have large home ranges. The males scent-mark their territory and defend it against intruders, whereas females tolerate other cheetah in their home range that often overlaps with home ranges of other cheetah. Females can range across several male territories annually, and are highly promiscuous, which can result in females giving birth to a litter with cubs from different fathers. Genetic analysis by Gottelli et al. (2007) showed that 43% of cheetah litters had mixed paternity. The cheetah’s social system with solitary females and social males is unique among cats.

A cheetah cannot roar like other big cats, however, its vocalizations include purring, chirping, growling and hissing.

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GESTATION PERIOD

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CUB MORTALITY RATES IN THE WILD WITH OTHER CARNIVORES

Habitat and Diet

Cheetah are habitat generalists and can be found in many different habitats including open plains, dry forest, woodland, savannah, semi-desert and thick bush. There are reports of cheetah at altitudes of 4,000 m on Mt Kenya (Young and Evans 1993), and in the central Sahara, cheetah occur in high mountain habitat. Habitat preference is often determined by prey availability and a lack of other large predators. Particularly in East and Southern Africa, cheetah tend to avoid areas with high prey densities, probably to avoid large predators like lions and hyenas that can be found in these areas.

Cheetah are diurnal, and hunt in the day time. Adult cheetah mostly kill medium sized antelopes (15-30 kg) but small animals like birds and hares are also an important part of the diet. When stalking prey, cheetahs get as close to the animal as possible. They then use their speed to outrun the prey. They close in, knock the animal to the ground with their paws and suffocate the animal by biting the neck. Because their sprints are so fast, cheetahs become breathless and overheated within 30 seconds. After a sustained effort in chasing and killing their prey a cheetah may rest for around half an hour before they begin to eat.

Cheetah, unlike most other African predators, rarely scavenge and do not remain long with their kills, many of which are stolen by other carnivores. Cheetah need only drink once every three to four days.

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HIGHEST RECORDED ALTITUDE OCCUPIED BY CHEETAH

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AVERAGE WEIGHT OF CHEETAH PREY

Threats and Conservation Action

The major threat to cheetah is loss of habitat and isolation of existing habitat patches. Because cheetah occur at low densities, conservation of viable populations requires large scale land management planning; most existing protected areas are not large enough to ensure the long term survival of cheetah (Durant 2007).

A depleted wild ungulate prey base is of serious concern in northern Africa (Berzins and Belbachir 2006) but is also considered a significant threat in parts of eastern Africa and southern Africa, particularly where bushmeat poaching is rampant.

Conflict with farmers and ranchers is another serious threat to cheetah in southern Africa (Purchase et al. 2007). Cheetah are often killed or persecuted because they are a perceived threat to livestock, despite the fact that they cause relatively little damage. Cheetah are also vulnerable to being caught in snares set for other species, and disease (especially anthrax) can be a problem (Lindeque et al. 1998).

Another threat to the cheetah is interspecific competition with other large predators, especially lions. On the open, short-grass plains of the Serengeti, juvenile mortality can be as high as 95%, largely due to predation by lions (Laurenson 1994). However, mortality rates are lower in more closed habitats.

The RWCP’s Eastern African cheetah conservation strategy identified four sets of constraints to mitigating these threats across a large spatial scale. Political constraints include lack of land use planning, insecurity and political instability in some ecologically important areas, and lack of political will to foster cheetah conservation. Economic constraints include lack of financial resources to support conservation, and lack of incentives for local people to conserve wildlife. Social constraints include negative conceptions of cheetah, lack of capacity to achieve conservation, lack of environmental awareness, rising human populations, and social changes leading to subdivision of land and subsequent habitat fragmentation. These potentially mutable human constraints contrast with several biological constraints which are characteristic of cheetah and cannot be changed, including wide-ranging behavior, negative interactions with other large carnivores, and potential susceptibility to disease.

Solutions

As with African wild dogs, some of the most impactful interventions for cheetah conservation are habitat preservation, range expansion and creating of areas of connectivity between isolated habitat fragments.

Working to reduce the illegal bushmeat trade is also key to reducing cheetah deaths from wire snares, and to minimise the depletion of the cheetah’s natural prey base. In addition, community engagement and education is important to address negative misperceptions and to help encourage tolerance though reducing livestock losses and providing benefits. Promotion of livestock management regimes which minimize conflict with cheetah are an important conservation measure, including more intensive livestock herd protection and using guard dogs.

The CCI works with a wide range of conservation programs, field projects and government wildlife authorities to promote and support interventions and activities that directly and effectively address these threats.

Should you wish to support any such efforts, please contact any one of us, and we will direct you to suitable programs or organisations.