World's Fastest Cats are Disappearing way too FAST...

Since I was a little kid I’ve been enthralled by Acinonyx Jubatus, with their amazing physique, speed, and appearance. People find them scary, a lot of people actually but I’ve always wanted one as a pet… I was a weird kid. Oh and by the way Acinonyx Jubatus are cheetahs (I just wanted to sound smart for a few minutes). Cheetahs are the fastest land animals in the world but they are also the fastest disappearing cat in Africa!

Cheetah cubs
http://www.cheetahkids.com/cheetahconservationfund.html

Cheetah running, showing its speed of up to 70 miles per hour!
http://naturescrusaders.wordpress.com/2009/04/08/running-cheetahs-need-high-pufas-so-do-you/running-cheetah/

 The three main issues that are causing the extinction of this species are loss of habitat, human conflict and the loss of genetic variation. Approximately in 1900, more than 100,000 cheetahs were living in the wild. In present day the species is extinct from 20 countries and only 10,000 to 12,500 cheetahs remain!

http://www.cheetahkids.com/cheetahconservationfund.html

       

The Cheetah Conservation Fund has been saving cheetahs for twenty years! They have many branches, including:

Ø      CCF Namibia

Ø      CCF United States

Ø      CCF Canada (Wohoo!)

The CCF has tons of awesome different programs, they do not only take immediate action, like creating cheetah conservatories but they do research so that they can discover long term solutions. The problem with a lot of organizations is that they set up conservations but they never deal with the root of the problem and the animals who are still living in the wild (which is how they should be!), are not protected at all. The CCF, on the other hand, they help cheetahs survive, not in a tiny, controlled habitat, but in their natural wildlife habitat. A specific program that does this is the Guard Dog Program.

Cheetah and guard dog, real picture taken in Namibia
www.cheetah.org/?nd=guarding_dog_program

An Anatolian Sheppard, the guard dogs used in the CCF program
http://www.cheetah.org/?nd=guarding_dog_program

Ø      The Guard Dog Program is used in Namibia because it has the largest population of wild cheetahs in the world.

Ø      Farmers in Namibia constantly are killing cheetahs because they see them as a threat to their livestock and being honest they are! But that’s where the program comes into play.

Ø      Anatolian Sheppard’s are natural guard dogs and the CCF is breeding these dogs and placing them in farms all over Namibia to scare away the cheetahs. I know it’s hard to believe that a dog could scare away a cheetah but cheetahs are kind of “scaredy-cats” (pun very intended).

Ø      These dogs keep the cheetahs away so the farmers don’t kill them, the livestock is protected from the hunting cheetahs and these dogs are very well taken care of. The CCF gives the family funds to take care of them, so don’t worry about the cute doggies. It’s a win-win-win situation!

Wild life activist with Cheetah in Namibia
http://azstarnet.com/lifestyles/recreation/article_0b59ad25-1e54-5d6d-bb27-7d69847047cc.html

 Cheetahs are magnificent animals that have been on this earth three to four million years and now they are disappearing fast! We need to band together and support organizations like the CCF, we need to show the world humans are not only capable of destroying our furry friends but protecting them too.

   Help me save the cheetahs!

Go to http://www.cheetah.org/?nd=donate_detail&donation_id=112 ! 

p.s. Blogs I commented on... 

http://caitlincosgrovebioblog.blogspot.com/2010/09/positive-

aspects.html#comments

 and 

http://itsalive-conn.blogspot.com/2010/09/references.html#comments

Works Cited

Cheetah Fastest Land Animal Endangered Big Cat. Web. 04 Oct. 2010. <http://www.cheetahspot.com/>.

"Cheetahs, Cheetah Pictures, Cheetah Facts - National Geographic." Animals, Animal Pictures, Wild Animal Facts - National Geographic. Web. 04 Oct. 2010. <http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/cheetah/>.

"Introduction to the Cheetah." Cheetah Conservation Fund. Web. 04 Oct. 2010. <http://www.cheetah.org/?nd=intro_to_the_cheetah>.

"The Livestock Guarding Dog Program." Cheetah Conservation Fund. Web. 04 Oct. 2010. <http://www.cheetah.org/?nd=guarding_dog_program>.

"Why Are Cheetahs Endangered? | Ecological Problems." Ecological Problems. Web. 04 Oct. 2010. <http://ecological-problems.blogspot.com/2009/09/why-are-cheetahs-endangered.html>.