Cheetah Population by Country 2024

The cheetah is part of the Felidae family. These wild cats include the lynx, bobcat, caracal, and puma. Also part of this graceful feline family tree is the South Asian fishing cat, ocelot, margay, the powerful and sleek jaguarundi, and the two-foot-tall African serval.

Native to Africa and Asia, these big cats have svelte, muscular bodies supporting climbing and average running speeds of around 64 mph. When chasing prey, the cheetah reaches speeds of 70 mph. The coat of an adult cheetah is tawny to light brown with black spots that vary in size and a white underbelly. Regional variants exist between the five subspecies.

Cheetahs have a unique social structure. The males live in small collaborative groups, but the females roam solitary unless breeding or caring for cubs. The female cheetah usually lives seven years in the wild, while the average male lives for eight years.

The spotted speedster prefers the bush and savanna woodlands - semi-open, arid territory. However, their species can survive wide temperature fluctuations, from 0ºC to 45ºC.

Categorized as a vulnerable population, with some subspecies as critically endangered, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) estimates somewhere between 4,000 and 12,000 wild cheetahs remain. The disappearance of this magnificent cat is primarily due to habitat encroachment and trophy hunting.

Approximately 200 Asiatic cheetahs live in Iran, in the provinces of Khorassan and Semnan. A few cats remain in the Isfahan, Yazd, and Kerman regions. Once a common sight in Egypt, they are now presumed extinct. The Turkestan cheetah, Acinonyx j. raddei, is also thought to be extinct.

Southern and eastern Africa contains the largest and most diverse cheetah populations. The largest verifiable wild population exists in Namibia - roughly 2,500 cats. Overall, an estimated 7,000-10,000 cats roam South Africa. Less than 100 animals live in East Africa, less than 2,000 in Sudan, and fewer than 500 live in Northeast Africa.