The cheetah is arguably one of Africa’s most iconic species, conjuring images of dramatic high-speed chases across sweeping savannahs. Cheetahs hold the impressive record as the world’s fastest land mammal, capable of running at blistering speeds of up to 70 miles per hour. However, they are also fast disappearing from their historical range across Africa and parts of the Middle East.
It’s estimated that, within the last hundred years, the global population of wild cheetahs has reduced by almost 92 per cent due to unchecked hunting, illegal pet trading, habitat loss, and human–wildlife conflict. Now cheetahs inhabit only 10 per cent of their historical range and Namibia is home to the world’s largest wild population. Even today, habitat loss due to fragmentation of land into privately owned farms continues to drive wild cheetahs towards conflict with farmers.