The Impact of Climate Change on the Conservation and Survival of the Cheetah

Cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) populations have dramatically declined due to habitat loss and fragmentation, declining prey base, conflict with livestock and farmed game, and illegal trade. Anthropogenic climate change multiplies all of these threats, increasing risks to future cheetah survival. Rising greenhouse gas (GHG) concentrations prolong atmospheric retention of the sun's energy and assure global temperature increases. Increased frequencies of droughts and extreme rainfall, already observed, are "climate change symptoms" of warming that are expected to continue with unabated GHG rise. Anticipated declines in surface water availability will increase human food insecurity, human-wildlife competition, and landscape degradation, exacerbating the threats already facing cheetah conservation. Addressing these magnified threats will require societal actions that stop atmospheric GHG rise, and "scaling up" of local and regional conservation successes. Despite challenges, applying past lessons in large landscape conservation while addressing human needs, along with concerted global action, could assure the long-term persistence of wild cheetahs.