Cheetah Added to Endangered Species List

by Amy Judd | December 11, 2008 at 02:28 pm

4350 views | 31 Recommendations | 13 comments

The Cheetah is the latest animal to be added to the Endangered Species List, along with 21 other species, including three dolphin species, six bird species and African wild dogs.

The Cheetah is actually extinct in 18 countries already due to habitat loss, over hunting and no captive breeding programme to help bring the numbers back up.

The numbers of Cheetahs in the wild have declined by about 90 percent over the past 100 years. It is suspected that less than 10,000 adults live wild in Africa and only about 50 in Asia - naturally habitat loss and over hunting are to blame for the problem.

Officials are meeting with each other around the world to try and solve the issue of what to do about the disappearing species, and trying to get together a plan of how best to save them, but it is easier said than done when not all the governments around the world will comply.

100 governments and 70 non-governmental organisations met in Rome last week for the ninth Conference of the Parties to the UNEP Convention on the Conservation of Migratory
Species of Wild Animals to discuss improved conservation for species.

Several resolutions were adopted including one to reduce noise pollution from vessels and other sources, especially in habitat sensitive for whales, dolphins and other marine species.

Climate change will also receive increased attention over the next years.

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Uwe Paschen

at 16:11 on December 11th, 2008

Hum, a decade ago they where doing well again with some improvements and now the back fall. Hunting is most likely the main cause.

bodokitty

at 16:44 on December 11th, 2008

bodokitty has contributed a photo to this story.

Pat Garcia

at 17:55 on December 11th, 2008

Oh no! I love God's creation, but I specially love cheetahs.

Amitjha

at 21:40 on December 11th, 2008

so now they will be kept in close obsevation, scintific fancy of study will kill the rest.

Wild Dogger

at 00:30 on December 12th, 2008

We found these Wild Dogs in the Lebala Concession in Northern Botswana.
They were looking for their pups, which seemed to be killed some days before as the den was empty. Maybe hyena, leopard or just a big python took the 5 young dogs. Most recently their biggest enemy the hyena killed them.
The pack of only 5 dogs were searching the youngsters circling in some distance around the den for some days. So it was easy for our great guide Hector to locate them.
We saw the dogs on 3 of our 4 days at Lebala. In that time we witnessed them eating two Baby Impala, which our guide called "Bush McDonalds". We didn´t see the actual kill, even though we followed them hunting. Due to their technique and hunting abilities they caught the poor little Impalas as fast as you can say "1 BigMäc, small french fries and a Coke"

Wild Dogger has contributed a photo to this story.

eafaulkner

at 04:23 on December 12th, 2008

lone male cheetah photographed in the Masai Mara 2006.

eafaulkner has contributed a photo to this story.

moxy

at 06:03 on December 12th, 2008

This gorgeous wild dog was part of a small pack we followed for two days in the Okavango. The alpha female was collared. They killed twice while we were with them; both impalas. Once we followed the entire hunt; the second day they took an impala right at our camp.

Our friend Glynn Maude, who has spent the past ten years studying the brown hyena in the Magkadigkadi so he knows a thing or two about endangered species, described the challenge for the dogs best. He explained that the dogs live quite close to “the edge” because if they are unsuccessful hunting for more than a couple of days, they weaken—and are prone.

Between habitat loss, being killed because they're an irritant to locals and some poor luck, it's easy for their numbers to crash quickly. Spending time with them on two of our four trips to the Okavango has provided some of our most cherished memories of Africa.

moxy has contributed a photo to this story.

wwmmam@sbcglobal.net

at 07:42 on December 12th, 2008

This pair of African Wild Dogs was photographed in December 2006 on the Mala Mala Game Reserve near the Kruger National Park in South Africa.

wwmmam@sbcglobal.net has contributed a photo to this story.

azzayindia

at 07:57 on December 12th, 2008

well what about the leopards/

SMcI

at 09:13 on December 12th, 2008

This African Wild Dog had been rescued along with a couple of others from its litter when a farmer collapsed their den and killed the mother.

SMcI has contributed a photo to this story.

danesller0127

at 14:38 on December 12th, 2008

I wonder that 'Cheetah' is also added to endangered species list...

Cheetah, belongs to the cat family (Felidae) is the fastest land animal in the world, they knock their prey to the ground and kill with a suffocating bite to the neck, they must eat quickly before they lose the kills to other bigger or more aggressive carnivores.

I supported the programme to help bring the numbers back up... Thank you! amyjudd'

boydmace

at 05:06 on December 16th, 2008

The cheetah was brought from Botswana to Zelda's Camp where they were introduced back into the wild . A great conservation project seen at first hand. In Botswana the cheetah is not protected, that is why they are trapped and brought back to Zelda's camp in Namibia.

boydmace has contributed a photo to this story.