Did you know that cheetahs, known as the fastest animals in the world, are endangered?

Cheetahs, mainly living in the grasslands of Africa and the Middle East, are an endangered species with only about 6,500 individuals left worldwide. Listed as vulnerable (VU) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, cheetahs are likely to face a high risk of extinction in the wild within a few months or years.

Cheetahs are animals that do not stay in one place but move around widely. Because of this, cheetahs often live outside protected areas. When cheetahs move outside protected areas, they are more likely to encounter humans. Humans feel threatened by the mere appearance of the carnivorous cheetah. Cheetahs often kill livestock, so there are also many people who hunt cheetahs. As the boundaries between cheetah habitats and human settlements become unclear, cheetah habitats continue to shrink.

The indiscriminate capture of young cheetahs is also fueling the cheetah's extinction crisis. Young cheetahs, which are traded for $10,000 each, are easy targets for poachers. It is said that more than 300 young cheetahs are illegally sold every year. The disappearance of young cheetahs can only accelerate extinction.

Experts say the cheetah's extinction crisis is also due to genetic bottlenecks caused by habitat loss. Genetic bottlenecks refer to the phenomenon in which genetic diversity disappears due to rapid habitat loss. When genetic diversity disappears, individuals become vulnerable to diseases, which increases the risk of extinction. For this reason, zoos exchange animals to increase genetic diversity among cheetahs. In fact, a Japanese zoo donated two cheetahs to a Korean zoo in 2021.

The Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF) is working to protect cheetahs by restoring their habitats, running volunteer programs, and operating livestock guarding dog programs. The livestock guarding dog program, which is being implemented to prevent conflict between cheetahs and humans that arises when cheetahs kill livestock in human settlements, is expected to be particularly effective. They also operate a rehabilitation center to treat injuries and care for the health of cheetahs that have been rescued from illegal capture, and cooperate with the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and Forestry (MoECC) to prevent illegal trade.

The non-profit animal protection organization WildTrack is collaborating with AI analytics company SAS to conduct research to track cheetah population information. Using the "Footprint Identification Technique (FIT)," which uses crowdsourcing techniques where anyone can take and share pictures of animal tracks, cheetahs can be monitored without harming them.

Hopefully, these various cheetah conservation efforts will continue in the future so that cheetahs will no longer be racing towards extinction.