Cherished Cheetahs

When you think of a cheetah, you think of a sleek spotted cat roaming the African plains, right?  Did you know there is also an Asiatic cheetah?  It's actually a subspecies of its African cousin.  Cheetahs once roamed India, Afghanistan, as far as Syria, but now it is only found in Iran with rare sightings in Pakistan.  Between wars and revolutions causing drastic declines in prey species, as well as cheetahs themselves, and fragmented habitats, there may only be about 50 to 100 left in the wild.  Asiatics cheetahs are now considered critically endangered.

Source:  Animal Pictures Archive/Wiki

Found in the Kevir desert region of Iran, its main food consists of gazelles, wild sheep and goats, and hare. There have been debates about how genetically different the Asiatic Cheetah is from the African Cheetah, but recent studies show that it is indeed a subspecies.  Because of a lack of genetic diversity, however, due to habitat fragmentation, Asiatic cheetah cubs have a very high mortality rate.

Source:  Felidae Conservation Fund

Most of the known cheetah populations are in protected areas in Iran, but that alone may not be enough to save the individuals that are left.  It would be a shame to those these guys forever.

For a video, click here.