It is now illegal to import cheetah skins into North America and European countries. Since the early 1900s, their numbers have declined rapidly. This decline has occurred chiefly because people have hunted the cheetah for its pelt and have converted much of the animal's grassland habitat into farming and manufacturing areas. Today, the cheetah is an endangered species. Biologists estimate that less than 15,000 cheetahs remain in the wild.
Many biologists believe that cheetahs narrowly escaped extinction.
Although the species survived by inbreeding among the few remaining cheetahs, this may have led to a loss of genetic diversity. Some scientists believe that this lack of diversity affects the cheetah's immune system and makes the animal more vulnerable to disease. Cheetahs are bred in captivity to try to maintain their remaining genetic variation. Biologists hope to eventually release some of these cheetahs into the wild. Cheetahs have never been common in the wild, but they're now in great danger of becoming extinct.