Cheetah - Acinonynx jubatus

The head and body of the adult Asiatic cheetah measure from 112 to 135 cm with a tail length of 66-84 cm and a shoulder height of 62-86 cm. Cheetahs can weigh from 34 to 54 kg, and the male is slightly larger than the female, but there is not a great variation in cheetah sizes and it is difficult to tell males and females apart by appearance alone.

The Cheetah has a slender, long-legged body with blunt semi-retractile claws. Its coat is tan with small, round, black spots, and the fur is coarse and short. The cheetah has a small head with high-set eyes. Black "tear marks," which run from the inside corner of its eyes down the sides of the nose to the outside of its mouth, keep the sun out of its eyes, and aid in hunting.

Compared to a similarly sized leopard, the Cheetah is generally shorter-bodied, but is longer tailed and taller and so it appears more streamlined. The Cheetah is the fastest land animal in the world.

Cheetah

Cheetah habitat in Iran consists of desert, much of it with precipitation of fewer than 100 mm per year. The terrain ranges from plains and saltpans to eroded foothills, and rugged desert ranges that rise to an elevation of up to 2,000-3,000 m. The vegetation, if any, consists of a sparse cover of shrubs, most less than one meter tall, of the genera Salsola, Artemisia, Zygophyllum, Astragulus, Aphaxis, and others. Gazelles Gazella subgutturosa and G. bennetti were preferred prey, but they have now become scarce through over-hunting and replacement by livestock. Opportunistic recovery of Cheetah kills suggests that wild sheep Ovis orientalis, Persian ibex Capra aegagrus and Cape hares Lepus capensis are the key prey species today though none are considered optimal for cheetahs.

Cheetahs are the fastest land mammals, and catch their prey in high speed chases up to 103 km per hour (29 meters per second), over distances of hundreds of metres. Cheetahs rarely scavenge and do not remain long with their kills, many of which are stolen by other carnivores. Cheetahs are primarily active during the day, unlike other predators, a strategy that may help to reduce competition.

The Cheetah hunts by vision rather than by scent. Prey is stalked to within 10–30 m, then chased. This is usually over in less than a minute, and if the Cheetah fails to make a catch quickly, it will give up. The Cheetah has an average hunting success rate of around 50% - half of its chases resulting in capture.

Running at top speeds puts a great deal of strain on the cheetah's body, raising the body temperature until it becomes so high that it would be deadly to continue. For this reason cheetahs are often seen resting after catching their prey.

In comparison with other big cats, cheetahs occur at relatively low densities (10-30% of typical densities for lions, leopards, tigers and jaguars in prime habitat.

Detailed studies have not been conducted in the wild on longevity, but 8-12 years is the average age cheetahs reach in captivity. While cheetahs have been domesticated for hunting purposes in the past, they do not respond well to caged environments.

Cub mortality is high for the species in both the wild and captivity. An average 30 percent of all cubs born in captivity die within one month of birth, and in East Africa about 90 percent die before reaching the 3 months of age.

Cheetahs have a social organization that is unique among the felids. Females are solitary or accompanied by dependent young, and males are either solitary or live in stable coalitions of two or three. Some coalitions consist of brothers, but unrelated males may also be members of the group. Unlike the coalitions formed by male lions, which remain attached to and mate with the females in a single pride, Cheetah male coalitions mate with as many females as possible, and females show no mate fidelity.

Studies of cheetahs in Africa showed females are sexually promiscuous and often have cubs by many different males. Females give birth to up to nine cubs after a gestation period of ninety to ninety-eight days, although the average litter size is three to five. Cubs weigh from 150 to 300g at birth.

Resting Cheetah

The current population of cheetahs in Iran is estimated at 60-100 and is classified by the IUCN as Critically Endangered. Although the Iranian population currently appears stable, it has declined in recent decades. There were said to be over 200 Cheetahs in Iran in the mid-1970s, although some experts consider this figure an over-estimate.

On a global level, the known Cheetah population is not much bigger than 7,000, and the total population is unlikely to exceed 10,000 mature individuals. The global population trend is one of decrease and according to the IUCN Acinonyx jubatus is Vulnerable on a world-wide level.

• Iran

Cheetahs have disappeared from huge areas of their historic range. They still occur widely, but sparsely. In Africa they are estimated to have disappeared from 76% of their historic range on the continent.

In Asia, the Cheetah has lost almost all its vast historic range, which within the last century extended from the shores of the Mediterranean and the Arabian peninsula, north to the northern shores of the Caspian and Aral Seas, and west through Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan into central India. Part of the reason for their disappearance in Asia is live captures of cheetahs, which were trained to hunt for the aristocracy. The main cause, however, was likely depletion of the wild prey base, especially gazelles, as well as direct killing of cheetahs and development of their habitat.

The Asiatic Cheetah (A. j. venaticus) is now known to survive only in Iran, where it is critically endangered. Persistence in Pakistan is unlikely. While researchers consider it extinct in Afghanistan, a Cheetah skin of unknown origin was found in a marketplace in western Afghanistan in 2007.

The subspecies A. j. venaticus, commonly called the Asiatic Cheetah, is thought to survive only in Iran. They the eastern limit of its range in usually considered to be the Arabian Peninsula. However, some scientists included cheetahs from the northern Sahara in venaticus.

The Iranian population is very small. For the IUCN Red List, population is defined as the number of “mature individuals known or inferred to be capable of reproduction.” This was interpreted for cats as the effective population size, or number of animals estimated to be passing on their genes through successful raising and recruitment of offspring. The census population of cheetahs in Iran is estimated at 60-100, with less than half likely to consist of mature breeding individuals.

The Asiatic Cheetah’s range is restricted to the Central Iranian plateau. The main threat to the species is loss of many of their primary prey species, such as the Jebeer gazelle, goitered gazelle, urial sheep, and wild goat, due to poaching and grazing competition with domestic livestock.

In Iran, the Asiatic Cheetah A. j. venaticus is threatened indirectly by loss of prey base through human hunting activities. In addition, most protected areas are open to seasonal livestock grazing, which potentially places huge pressure on the resident ungulate populations through disturbance and potential competition. Additionally, domestic dogs accompanying the herds present a likely threat to both cheetahs and their prey. An emerging threat is the possibility of fragmentation into discontinuous subpopulations as a result of increasing developmental pressures (mining, oil, roads, railways). This is particularly the case in Kavir National Park, currently the north-western limit of the Asiatic cheetah's range.

The main threats to cheetahs in Iran can be summarized as follows:

• Over-hunting of Cheetah prey.
  At the start of the Iranian Revolution in 1978/1979, all regulations protecting Cheetah ranges and animals living within these areas were disbanded. Unregulated hunting of cheetahs’ natural prey during this period drastically decreased Cheetah numbers. Although hunting is now regulated, illegal poaching of Cheetah prey continues to this day.
• Habitat degradation.
  Overgrazing and severe droughts resulting from natural and human-induced changes have reduced the habitat available to wild antelope species and to cheetahs. Also, in Iran, herders and their livestock are legally permitted access to most protected areas and some agriculture is permitted in protected areas, placing the Cheetah and its prey in direct competition with people.
• Direct poaching.
  Herders hunt cheetahs for the perceived or real threats they pose to livestock, although cheetahs are known to create fewer problems for livestock owners than many other large carnivores. Occasionally poachers illegally capture Cheetah cubs to be sold as pets.

• Panthera
  After decades of rampant poaching and habitat loss, the world's last population of Asiatic cheetahs is now confined to the country of Iran. To reverse years of persecution and protect the last remaining population of Asiatic cheetah's in Iran, we are partnering with Iran’s Department of the Environment (DOE), the Wildlife Conservation Society and the United Nations Development Programme to carry out the Iranian Cheetah Project.
• Iranian Cheetah Society (ICS)
  Iranian Cheetah Society (ICS) is a non-governmental, non-profitable organization in order to save the biodiversity with the Asiatic cheetah as flagship species which is left only in Iran. The ICS is a sophisticated NGO devoted to save the Iranian “Big Five” Carnivores which are normally in conflict with local communities.
• Cheetah Conservation Fund
  To be the internationally recognized centre of excellence in the conservation of cheetahs and their ecosystems. CCF will work with all stakeholders to develop best practices in research, education, and land use to benefit all species, including people.

Please email photos and figures that may be used in further publications to info at largeherbivore dot org

To illustrate this webpage (and for the sake of the protection of these animals) we have made use of photos of which it is not always clear who is the possessor of the credits and rights. If you feel yourself infringed in your rights or if you know the source of a photo, please let us know.