Cheetah headed to extinction with just 7,100 left, wildlife experts warn
London — The world’s fastest land animal, the cheetah, is in danger of extinction because it is running out of space, research led by the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) has found. After a sharp decline in numbers, there are now just 7,100 cheetah in the world, or 9% of the historic range, the ZSL, Wildlife Conservation Society and Panthera study found. In Zimbabwe, the study found, these pressures have seen the cheetah population plummet 85% from 1,200 to at most 170 animals in just 16 years. Wildlife experts are calling for the big cat to be rated "endangered", up from "vulnerable" among threatened species, to give it greater environmental protection. Capable of sprinting up to 75 miles per hour in short bursts, the cheetah is notoriously secretive and information on its status had been difficult to gather, meaning its predicament had been overlooked, the study said. "Our findings show that the large space requirements for cheetah, coupled with the complex range of threats face...
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