World’s fastest cat races against extinction as international cheetah day highlights conservation crisis

As the world observes International Cheetah Day on December 4th, the stark reality facing Earth’s fastest land animal comes into sharp focus. With only around 7,100 cheetahs remaining in the wild, this magnificent species has lost 91% of its historic range and faces an uncertain future despite dedicated conservation efforts.

The Cheetah Conservation Fund established this annual awareness day in 2010 to spotlight the crisis facing Acinonyx jubatus. Currently classified as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, cheetah populations have plummeted by 37% over the past 15 years due to habitat destruction and human-wildlife conflict. Today, most surviving cheetahs live within fenced national parks across Africa, with a small population of critically endangered Asiatic cheetahs clinging to survival in Iran.

The conservation community mourned a significant loss this year with the death of Vincent van der Merwe, a pioneering cheetah conservationist whose innovative approaches helped reverse population declines in South Africa. Through his Cheetah Metapopulation Initiative, van der Merwe tackled the genetic crisis threatening isolated populations by physically transporting cheetahs between reserves to maintain genetic diversity. His methods proved successful, making South Africa the only country where wild cheetah numbers were actually increasing.

Meanwhile, India’s ambitious project to reintroduce cheetahs after their 1952 extinction faces scrutiny following deaths in the program. As fragmented populations continue shrinking and genetic bottlenecks threaten remaining groups, International Cheetah Day serves as a crucial reminder that urgent action is needed to prevent this iconic speedster from disappearing forever.