Habitat loss is one of the big threats facing cheetahs (CCF About, 2020; Mara-Meru Cheetah Project, 2016). Cheetahs need plenty of space with suitable prey, water, and cover (CCF About, 2020). As the human population continues to increase, cheetah habitat becomes more fragmented (CCF About, 2020; Mara-Meru Cheetah Project, 2016). Prior to 1900 cheetahs roamed on 13 million square miles of land, today they roam on about 280,000 square miles (Deamer, 2016). In 2000 Zimbabwe had around 1,200 cheetahs, but in 2016 they only had 170 (Deamer, 2016).
Unlike other big cats and wildlife, cheetahs do not thrive in protected areas because there is competition for prey with other big cats and cheetahs run from conflict with other big cats (CCF Habitat Loss, 2020). Conservancies in Namibia support open fencing because it reduces the effects of habitat fragmentation, caused by game-fencing (Schumann et al., 2008).
Males usually have a territory of around 10 square miles (Smithsonian, 2020). When cheetahs form groups it is called a coalition (Smithsonian, 2020). A coalition of males may have a territory of 50 square miles (Smithsonian, 2020).
The Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) collaborated to improve cheetah habitat (CCF Habitat Loss, 2020). Without suitable habitat cheetahs, prey species and other wildlife are negatively impacted (CCF Habitat Loss, 2020). The CCF actively works habitat restoration through their Bushblok initiative (CCF Habitat Loss, 2020). They harvest the bush and it goes through a process prior to being transported to be turned into wood blocks (CCF Habitat Loss, 2020). This gives community members jobs, creates a product, adds to the economy and the wood is accredited by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) (Philozoephy, 2017).
Literature Cited
Cheetah Conservation Fund. (2020). About cheetahs.
Cheetah Conservation Fund. (2020). Habitat loss. https://cheetah.org/learn/habitat-loss/
Cheetah Conservation Fund. (2020). Bushblok packaging for different markets [Photograph]. https://cheetah.org/learn/habitat-loss/
Deamer, K. (2016, December 27). Cheetahs are racing toward extinction. Live Science.
Mara-Meuru Cheetah Project (2016). Mara-Meru cheetah project. http://marameru.org/
Philozoephy. (2017, November 22). CCF- Conservation - Bushblok [Video]. Youtube.
Schumann, M., Watson, L. H., & Schumann, B. D. (2008). Attitudes of Namibian commercial farmers toward large carnivores: The influence of conservancy membership. South African Journal of Wildlife Research, 38(2), 123-132. https://journals.co.za/docserver/fulltext/wild/38/2/wild_v38_n2_a5.pdf?expires=1562523501&id=id&accname=guest&checksum=FE3DFF00A85AA478CE3EA50E074AC72D.
Smithsonian National Zoo. (2020). Cheetah. National Zoo.
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