Asiatic Cheetah Acinonyx jubatus venaticus

Asiatic Cheetahs once ranged over the grasslands of India, Pakistan, Russia, Iran and the Middle East.  

The cats have been nearly wiped out by excessive hunting, habitat degradation and scarcity of prey species that were hunted to near extinction by man. There have been no sightings in Afghanistan since the 1950’s, and a 2001 survey in Pakistan found no sign of the big cats. They used to wander from Iran to Turkmenistan but construction of a border fence has made this natural migration more difficult. 

The Iranian Cheetah has a smaller head than their African cousins. Their legs are shorter, their coat thicker and their neck is more powerful. 

Photo from Payvand Iran News

The last wild Asiatic Cheetahs in Iran are now thought to number between 70-110 individuals, all occupying the remote and arid central plateau. Iran considers their Cheetah an important part of its natural and cultural heritage and it has now become a symbol of the country’s conservation efforts. Iran’s Department of the Environment (DOE) partnered with Panthera and various other groups including the Wildlife Conservation Society and the United Nations Development Program to create a comprehensive conservation program.

Through this project, researchers are protecting the last remaining Iranian Cheetahs, their prey base and their natural habitats by mitigating direct threats facing Cheetahs and their prey; gathering ecological data; enhancing and empowering law enforcement officials; utilizing camera traps and radio-collars to collect critical data on the ecology of Cheetahs; and working with local communities to improve attitudes towards the cats.  

In 2005, a camera trap photo in Iran captured a picture of a female with four cubs about six months old. This encouraging picture may indicate that efforts to restore the natural prey population are working. 

See the Iranian Cheetah Society for more information.

In India, Cheetahs have not been seen for more than 60 years. In 2010, the Minister of Environment announced plans to bring 18 cheetahs from Africa to reintroduce this big cat to its former range. While the geographic range of the Asiatic Cheetah did span across these areas of India in the past, trophy hunters and poachers drove the felines to extinction there. 

Officials claim that bringing the Cheetah back would restore the grasslands that, for years, have been cut down by villagers who use the grass to feed livestock.  Over time, the Cheetahs’ presence is supposed to stabilize other endangered species populations living in the disturbed grasslands. 

This program would involve moving thousands of local people out of the planned refuges, with no guarantee that poachers would not target the Cheetahs as they have done the Indian Tiger Panthera tigris. Many cat conservationists around the world disagree with India’s proposed plan. 

The Asiatic Cheetah is classed as Critically Endangered (2008).