new delhi the worlds fastest land animal the cheetah acinonyx jubatus is fast heading towards extinction with only 7100 of these charismatic cats left globally a new study has found the cheetah has been driven out of 91 of its historic range with asiatic cheetah populations hit hardest with fewer than 50 individuals remaining in one isolated pocket of irandue to the species dramatic decline the studys authors are calling for the cheetah to be uplisted from vulnerable to endangered on the iucn red list of threatened species typically greater international conservation support prioritization and attention are granted to wildlife classified as endangered in efforts to stave off impending extinctionled by zoological society of london zsl panthera and wildlife conservation society wcs the study was published in the journal proceedings of the national academy of sciencesthis study represents the most comprehensive analysis of cheetah status to date given the secretive nature of this elusive cat it has been difficult to gather hard information on the species leading to its plight being overlooked our findings show that the large space requirements for cheetah coupled with the complex range of threats faced by the species in the wild mean that it is likely to be much more vulnerable to extinction than was previously thought said dr sarah durant zslwcs lead authorwhile renowned for its speed and spots the degree of persecution cheetahs face both inside and outside of protected areas is largely unrecognized even within guarded parks and reserves cheetahs rarely escape the pervasive threats of humanwildlife conflict prey loss due to overhunting by people habitat loss and the illegal trafficking of cheetah parts and trade as exotic petsto make matters worse as one of the worlds most wideranging carnivores 77 of the cheetahs habitat falls outside of protected areas unrestricted by boundaries the species wideranging movements weaken law enforcement protection and greatly amplify its vulnerability to human pressures indeed largely due to pressures on wildlife and their habitat outside of protected areas zimbabwes cheetah population has plummeted from 1200 to a maximum of 170 animals in just 16 years representing an astonishing loss of 85 of the countrys cheetahsscientists are now calling for an urgent paradigm shift in cheetah conservation towards landscapelevel efforts that transcend national borders and are coordinated by existing regional conservation strategies for the species a holistic conservation approach which incentivises protection of cheetahs by local communities and transnational governments alongside sustainable humanwildlife coexistence is paramount to the survival of the speciesweve just hit the reset button in our understanding of how close cheetahs are to extinction the takeaway from this pinnacle study is that securing protected areas alone is not enough we must think bigger conserving across the mosaic of protected and unprotected landscapes that these farranging cats inhabit if we are to avert the otherwise certain loss of the cheetah forever said pantheras cheetah program director dr kim youngoverton