World cheetahs could be sprinting towards extinction

The cheetah – the world’s fastest land animal – is sprinting to extinction, as experts have warned that there are just 7,100 of them remaining in the wild.

Today cheetah’s occupy just 9% of the territory they once lived in. Asiatic populations have been hit the hardest, with fewer than 50 individuals surviving in Iran.

The bulk of the remaining cheetahs live mainly in Africa. Zimbabwe’s cheetah population has plummeted from 1,200 to about 170 animals in just 16 years, representing an astonishing loss of 85% of the country’s cheetahs.

Conservation experts further say 77% of cheetahs live outside of wildlife reserves and other protected areas.