What Is Being Done to Save the Cheetah?
Published- Feb 24, 2009
By: Eduardo Ramirez
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| A mother cheetah and her offspring laying down to catch there breath after hunting down some gazelle.
Summary:
The cheetah is one of the fastest land animals in the world.
It can reach speeds of up to 70 milesper hour. And is now known today as an
endangered species with only 15,000 left on the planet. The population of cheetahs
in Africa and India were around 100,000 one hundred years ago. Loss of habitat,
poaching, and a decrease in prey has drastically reduced the amount left. And hunting
them for their coats are extremely expensive. Another problem is that cheetahs
have slender bodies and smaller teeth than big hunters like lions. So it is
harder for them to protect the food that they kill. Cheetahs on reserves can
have smaller gene pools which increases the chance of disease and predation. In
Namibia, farmers were taught how to prevent cheetahs from eating their livestock
and the number of cheetahs has increased by about 2,500. Scientists are hopeful
that cheetahs will gain population with more research and experiments.
Reflection:
When I was little, my favorite animal was a cheetah. They
are fast, agile, and soft like a cat. I really respect them as animals. The sad
part is that cheetahs are not the only species out there that is endangered.
Tigers are endangered too. What is going to happen in 50 years, 100 years? Will
everything just become extinct?
Questions
1.
Explain how cheetahs are important to their
ecosystem.
2.
How does the decrease in cheetah population affect
the ecosystem?
3.
Name 3 other animals that are endangered in
Africa.
4.
When do you think populations of cheetahs will
go back to normal again?
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