--- title: Cheetah Population Falls to 7,100: In Danger of Extinction description: Just 7,100 cheetahs remain across the globe as the species continues to face a range of threats from humans, according to new research canonical: https://time.com/4618273/cheetah-endangered-species/ author: Justin Worland article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-12-27T15:18:57.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T02:28:22.483Z article:section: Science og:title: Cheetahs Are Disappearing at an Alarming Rate og:description: Just 7,100 cheetahs remain across the globe as the species continues to face a range of threats from humans, according to new research og:url: https://time.com/4618273/cheetah-endangered-species/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd3eb064a85d82195/6988b407a988ca90e96ba870/cheetah-disappearing.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: A Cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) mother with cubs is looking for og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Cheetahs Are Disappearing at an Alarming Rate twitter:description: Just 7,100 cheetahs remain across the globe as the species continues to face a range of threats from humans, according to new research twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd3eb064a85d82195/6988b407a988ca90e96ba870/cheetah-disappearing.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Cheetahs Are Disappearing at an Alarming Rate  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Dec 27, 2016 3:18 PM UTC  A Cheetah mother with cubs is looking for prey in the Samburu National Reserve in Kenya. A Cheetah mother with cubs is looking for prey in the Samburu National Reserve in Kenya.Wolfgang Kaehler—LightRocket/Getty Images  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Dec 27, 2016 3:18 PM UTC Just 7,100 cheetahs remain across the globe as the species continues to face a range of threats largely caused by humans, according to new research. Researchers behind the study from the Zoological Society of London, Panthera and the Wildlife Conservation Society [called on](https://www.panthera.org/sprinting-towards-extinction-cheetah-numbers-crash-globally) scientists to classify the animal as endangered — a distinction that will promote additional funds for protecting the species. The study, published in the journal _PNAS_, shows that cheetahs no longer live in 91% of their historic range as humans continue to encroach on the animals’ land and hunt the prey that the cats need to survive. And because cheetahs — the planet’s fastest land mammal — tend to roam large areas, much of the land where they reside remains unprotected. Researchers say that a more comprehensive approach will be necessary to save the species that includes engagement from local and national officials. “We’ve just hit the reset button in our understanding of how close cheetahs are to extinction,” says Kim Young-Overton, director of Panthera’s cheetah program, in a press release. “Securing protected areas alone is not enough. We must think bigger.” The cheetah is just one of many [large](http://time.com/4354884/elephant-ivory-ban/?iid=sr-link3) [mammals](http://time.com/4157046/lions-endangered-species-act/?iid=sr-link1) found predominately in Africa that has teetered close to extinction in recent years. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4618273/cheetah-endangered-species/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4618273/cheetah-endangered-species/"},"headline":"Cheetahs Are Disappearing at an Alarming Rate","datePublished":"2016-12-27T15:18:57.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T02:28:22.483Z","description":"Just 7,100 of the species remain","url":"https://time.com/4618273/cheetah-endangered-species/","keywords":["animals","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd3eb064a85d82195/6988b407a988ca90e96ba870/cheetah-disappearing.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Justin Worland","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/justin-worland/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd3eb064a85d82195/6988b407a988ca90e96ba870/cheetah-disappearing.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"A Cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) mother with cubs is looking for","caption":"A Cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) mother with cubs is looking for","creditText":"Wolfgang Kaehler—LightRocket/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/animals/","name":"animals"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4618273/cheetah-endangered-species/","name":"Cheetahs Are Disappearing at an Alarming Rate"}}]}] ```