IUCN Status: Vulnerable
Estimated population: fewer than 7,500 mature and independent cheetahs in the wild
The cheetah is one of Africa’s most recognisable predators — and one of its most vulnerable.
A century ago, more than 100,000 cheetahs ranged across Africa and Asia. Today, fewer than 7,500 remain in the wild, occupying just a fraction of their former range. Their populations have become increasingly fragmented, with the vast majority now found outside protected areas.
Namibia is one of the cheetah’s last strongholds, with an estimated 1,500 cheetahs — around a fifth of the world’s remaining population. Much of this population lives on commercial farmland, where cheetahs have historically been viewed as a threat to livestock. In the 1980s alone, Namibian farmers removed an estimated 8,000 cheetahs.
What does conservation look like on the ground?
For cheetahs, conservation isn’t only about protecting animals inside national parks. In Namibia, it also means finding ways for farmers and predators to live alongside one another.
The Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF), founded near Otjiwarongo by Dr Laurie Marker in 1990, has spent decades working to reduce conflict between farmers and cheetahs.
One of its best-known approaches is the use of livestock-guarding dogs. Since 1994, CCF has bred and placed more than 800 Anatolian Shepherd and Kangal dogs with farmers. By helping protect livestock, the dogs can reduce the need for farmers to kill predators in response to livestock losses.
This work forms part of a broader approach that includes predator-friendly farming, farmer training through Future Farmers of Africa, research and monitoring, and efforts to combat the illegal cheetah cub trade.
A future worth protecting
The cheetah’s future depends on more than protected areas. With so many surviving on farmland, finding practical ways for people and cheetahs to coexist is essential.
Namibia has shown that conservation can take place beyond the boundaries of national parks — and that protecting a predator can also mean supporting the people who share their land with it.
The cheetah is not simply disappearing from Africa. Its future is being shaped by the choices made on the ground, every day, by farmers, conservationists, communities and researchers.