The world’s fastest running land animal, the cheetah, is believed to be headed towards extinction. It is thought that there are only about 7,100 cheetahs left in the wild.
The cheetah mainly lives in Africa now, although Asia was once heavily populated with them before that population was destroyed. Today, besides Africa, the only place a few other cheetahs live is in Iran.
Many factors play into why this animal could one day be extinct. One reason is that their habitat is being destroyed due to human activity. Cheetahs need a large area to roam, and humans are diminishing that roaming area by building and using the land that cheetahs critically need. Another reason is that cheetah cubs are often illegally taken and sold to different places that view them as popular exotic pets. It is said that only one in six cheetahs survive this illegal journey. This trade is believed to be one of the top reasons as to why this animal is moving towards extinction.