The Asian cheetah ( lat. Acinonyx jubatus venaticus ) is one of the subspecies of the cheetah species, formerly used in various regions of the Middle East and India [2] [3] , but has survived only in Iran in the form of small populations.
| Asian cheetah |
 |
| Scientific classification |
|---|
| No rank : | Bilateral symmetric |
| Nadotryad : | Laurasiotherium |
|
| International Scientific Name |
|---|
Acinonyx jubatus venaticus Griffith , 1821 |
| Synonyms |
|---|
- Acinonyx jubatus raddei
Hilzheimer 1913 [1]
|
| Area |
|---|
|
| Security status |
|---|
Endangered SpeciesIUCN 3.1 Critically Endangered : 220 |
|
Outwardly, it practically does not differ from the African subspecies (however, the genetic differences between them are significant), with the exception of shorter hair [4] ; females are smaller than males. The length of the body is on average 110-150 cm, the length of the tail is 60-80 cm, the height at the withers is 70-85 cm; weight varies between 40-60 kg.
The main habitats are mountainous areas, also semi-deserts and steppes; in the forest zone is rare. Earlier, large ungulates (mountain sheep, goats, gazelles) [5] were the main target of hunting, but now, due to a decrease in the number of herbivores, Asian cheetahs also hunt small game and periodically attack livestock. As a rule, they lead a solitary lifestyle, although for hunting large prey they can form groups of up to 4 individuals. The pregnancy of the female lasts 85-95 days, usually in the litter from 2 to 6 kittens [6] . Cubs can start an independent life at the age of 12-20 months. The average lifespan of an Asian cheetah in the wild is up to 20-25 years. In captivity, these animals almost never breed.
Previously, the Asian cheetah was widely distributed from Arabia and Palestine to the central part of India and the north of modern Kazakhstan, but due to the intense extermination by poachers for the skins, the popularity of the animal as an object of hunting for aristocrats and a reduction in the number of ungulates that formed the basis of their diet, Asian cheetahs already in 1947 the year completely disappeared in India [7] , and in the period from the 1960s to the 1980s - in the whole Middle East (with the exception of Iran, where their population also declined significantly). Since 2000, the Wildlife Conservation Society, together with Iranian scientists, has begun the development of measures to protect the five regions of the country in which Asian cheetah populations are preserved. According to the data from the beginning of the 2000s, the number of individuals living in the wild was estimated at 50-100 [8] [9] . There are also plans to reintroduce the Asian cheetah in India and Pakistan [10] .
