Saving Cheetahs

Disappearing in the Wild
In the last 100 years, over 90% of the world's wild cheetah population has been lost. Extinct in 20+ countries, cheetahs are now found in only 23% of their historic African range due to habitat loss, human-wildlife conflict and illegal trade. Learn more about cheetahs.

Habitat Loss
Cheetahs require vast tracts of land with suitable prey. As humans expand into their natural habitat it becomes destroyed or fragmented, and severely lessens the number of animals a piece of land can support. Many areas across Africa that once supported thousands of cheetahs now can barely support a handful.

Human-Wildlife Conflict
While Africa has numerous protected parks and wildlife reserves, cheetahs struggle in these areas due to the high amount of other larger predators that compete for the same prey and will kill cheetahs given the opportunity. Therefore, roughly 90% of cheetahs live outside of protected lands on private farmlands. This creates another set of challenges as farmer's livestock - and livelihood - come into contact with cheetahs on their farmland.

Illegal Wildlife Trade
For thousands of years, cheetahs have been sought after for hunting and as a status symbol signifying wealth. Today, there is still a high demand for cheetahs as pets. The big cats are illegally captured in the wild and then smuggled to different parts of the world. Only one in six cheetah cubs survive the journey, therefore more are smuggled.

You Can Help
Organizations like the Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF) are working to combat these threats. And they've had success, but they need our help. This summer, join Sunset Zoo in raising funds to support CCF's efforts in one of three ways:
  1. Donate online.
  2. Visit the Zoo's gift shop and purchase a $50 conservation package complete with a cheetah plush.
  3. Visit the Zoo's cheetah exhibit and contribute through the donation box at the lower viewing windows.

More About Cheetah Conservation Fund
Founded in Namibia in 1990, Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF) is the global leader in research and conservation of cheetahs. Saving this magnificent animal from extinction requires innovative conservation methods that address the welfare of both cheetah and human populations over large landscapes. CCF’s programs have effectively stabilized and even increased the wild cheetah population in Namibia. CCF is an international non-profit organization headquartered in Namibia, with operations in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom, and partner organizations in several other nations. Learn more at

AZASavingSpecies.orgThrough SAFE: Saving Animals from Extinction, Sunset Zoo - together with more than 200 AZA-accredited zoos and aquariums, other partner organizations and its 80,000 annual visitors - is working on saving the most vulnerable species of wildlife from extinction. To learn more, visit #savingspecies