Estimates of cheetah numbers are 'guesswork,' say researchers

Date: May 3, 2016

Source: University of Oxford

Current estimates of the number of cheetahs in the wild are 'guesswork', say the authors of a new study which finds that the population in the cheetah stronghold of Maasai Mara, Kenya, is lower than previously thought.

In the early 1900s it was believed that around 100,000 cheetahs roamed Earth. The most recent estimate by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) puts the figure at 6,600 -- mainly in eastern and southern Africa -- amid fears that the fastest land mammal is racing to extinction.

However, a team of scientists from the Kenya Wildlife Trust's Mara Cheetah Project, the University of Oxford and the Indian Statistical Institute says this number is simply a best guess, given the difficulty of counting cheetahs accurately.

The researchers have now developed a new method to accurately count cheetahs, which in time will help determine the magnitude of the threats they face and assess potential conservation interventions.

The study is published in the journal PLOS ONE.

Lead author Dr Femke Broekhuis, Project Director of the Mara Cheetah Project and a post-doctoral researcher at the Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU), Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, said: 'The truth is that estimates of cheetah numbers are only best guesses, because cheetahs are a lot harder to count accurately than one might think. They naturally occur at low densities and move large distances, making them difficult to find.

'Whatever the exact number, we do know that they are extinct in 20 countries and occupy only 17% of their historical range. We also know the major threats facing cheetahs: habitat loss, human-wildlife conflict, depleting prey and the illegal pet trade.

'What we have lacked until now is a way to assess whether or not conservation efforts are effective.'

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