Asiatic Cheetah

Asiatic Cheetah is commonly known as Iranian Cheetah. During the British colonial times in India

it was famous by the name of Hunting as Leopard. This species with the zoological name Acinonyx jubatus venaticus falls under the genus Acinonyx. The classification is as below,

Kingdom	Animalia
Phylum	Chordata
Class	Mammalia
Order	Carnivora
Family	Felidae
Genus	Acinonyx
Species	Acinonyx jubatus

Physical Structure

The cheetah's chest is deep. Asiatic cheetah's fur is coarse, short and tan in colour with several round black spots, there are no black spots on its underside. Tails are bushy and with white tuft. Heads are small with high-set eyes with a "tear mark". It is the fastest of all terrestrial animals and the adult cheetah can reach speeds of over 110 km/h (60mph).



The adult cheetah weighs from 35 to 72 kg (77 to 160 lb). Its total head-and-body length is from 110 to 150 cm (43 to 59 in), while the tail can measure 60 to 84 cm (24 to 33 in) in length. Cheetahs are 66 to 94 cm (26 to 37 in) tall at the shoulder.

Males tend to be slightly larger than females but there is not a great variation in cheetah sizes and it is difficult to tell males and females apart by appearance alone. Compared to a similarly sized leopard, the cheetah is generally shorter-bodied, but is longer tailed and taller (it averages about 90 cm (35 in) tall) and so it appears more streamlined.

The cheetah's life span is about 10-15 years.

Distribution and Habitat

Asiatic cheetahs prefer to live in different types of habitat.

It includes areas with tall grass, grassy plains, and places with large plants and in treeless plains. The reason behind this type of terrain is its mode of hunting, which is running and attacking rather than the stalking and pouncing on its prey. Most of the Asiatic cheetahs are found in Northern region of Iran, and some parts of the Kerman, Khorasan, Semnan, Yazd, Tehran, and Markazi provinces. It can be found also in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Places Found

Noradehi Wildlife Sanctuary:Noradehi Wildlife Sanctuary is located at Sagar District in Central Madhya Pradesh. It consists of low number of cheetah and the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) and Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) have shortlisted this park as one of the last remaining habitats of the Cheetah in India.

Kuno Palpur Wildlife Sanctuary:

Kuno Palpur Wildlife Sanctuary is located at Sheopur District in North Madhya Pradesh. The local cheetah here is becoming extinct and the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) and Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) have shortlisted this park to reintroduce the cheetah from Africa. Wildlife Institute of India (WII) has identified 11 feasible habitats (where cheetah has become extinct in recent years) in various parts of India like Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Jharkhand to re-populate in the upcoming years.

Food Habits

Asiatic Cheetahs mostly hunt during the day, but sometimes also hunt at night. Asiatic cheetahs are usually solitary hunters. While they hunt in groups, they also hunt larger mammals like Zebra and other Wild beasts. It hunts by vision rather than by scent. It also hunts Small antelope, young of large antelope, game birds, hares and small mammals.

Mating Behaviour

The Asiatic cheetahs breed during the mid-winter months. The sexual maturity will occur at 20-23 months.

Gestation period is about 95 days; females have litters of one to four cubs at a time. Cubs are born blind and helpless. They will be hidden in dense bushes for first six weeks. The cubs are 30cm long and weigh about 1.5-2 lbs. Cubs attain maturity by 18- 2 yrs. First 18 months is very important for the cubs, because in this period only they can learn how to hunt the preys and avoid other animals. After 18 months mother leaves them, then they will form a sibling group and stay together for another 6 months.

Population and Statistics

The world population of Cheetahs are estimated about 10,000-12,500 in 24 to 26 African countries, in Iran it is less than 100 and in India it is less than 50 and becoming extinct in recent years. This type of cheetah is critically endangered subspecies mostly found now only in the Iran, also in some parts of Baluchistan, Pakistan. Latest Research shows only 70 to 100 species will remain, mostly found in Iran and most species have become extinct in India.

The Asiatic or Iranian cheetah is classified as critically endangered by the IUCN Red List as their population is estimated to be between 60 and 100. Asiatic cheetah ranks as the 7th most endangered world's cats. These cheetahs are classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threaten Animals, 2008.

Threats to Asiatic Cheetahs

The major factors for their extinction are,

Loss of Prey:Encroachment by human population into the forests has resulted in the loss of habitat of the prey of the Asiatic Cheetah. Hunting and poaching of herbivores by human beings has made food scarce for the feline.

Loss of Habitat:Increase in human population has not only caused the habitat of its preys to shrink but has also caused the cheetah to lose its home. Besides this, the habitat of the cheetah in Iran has been found to be rich in coal, copper and iron deposits and hence misused.

Although mining itself is not a direct cause of the loss of habitat of the cheetah,

allied activities like construction of roads and increase in traffic has led to more frequent confrontations between the Asiatic Cheetah and human beings.

Hunting and Poaching:The Asiatic Cheetah has been a coveted kill for its coat. It was hunted to near extinction by the Indian Royalty and Europeans for its coat which was a symbol of wealth and bravery.

Use in Hunting:
One of the earliest reasons for the decline in the number of these cats is their use in hunting by man. The Asiatic Cheetah is the only cat that can be tamed and trained to hunt. The Indian emperor Akbar is believed to have had about 1000 Asiatic Cheetahs that helped him during his hunting expeditions. It is for this reason that these cats were also referred to as the 'hunting leopards' by the British in India. But the sad part is that these animals did not have the tendency of surviving well in captivity, which is why their numbers had decreased drastically.

Conservation efforts in India

Many steps were taken to save this endangered species. To preserve the Asiatic cheetah in Iran, a project called Conservation of the Asiatic Cheetah (CACP) has been launched by the Global Environment Facility, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Department of Environment of Iran.

Cheetah Friends is another group of young people who are trained to spread awareness amongst people about this beautiful animal. A program had been developed in Iran to train the herders who consider the cat a major threat to their livestock and often confuse it with some other carnivore.


The story of the fall of this magnificent animal that once proudly roamed the land from the Arabian Peninsula to India, to being reduced to less than a hundred in number today, is a grim reminder of how human activities have led to large-scale wildlife extinction.