WORLD

Researchers are supporting a call to list the cheetah as “Endangered” on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List. (National Geographic)

Familiarize your students with endangered species using our encyclopedia entry and reference resource.

Teachers, scroll down for a quick list of key resources in our Teachers Toolkit.

Discussion Ideas

• Scientists are calling for cheetahs to be reclassified from “Vulnerable” to “Endangered” on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List. What do these classifications mean? Consult our easy-to-use chart of the categories and criteria of endangered species for some help.
  • “Vulnerable” is the lowest level of the three “threatened” categories (vulnerable, endangered, and critically endangered.) A species is classified as vulnerable if its population has declined between 30% and 50% over 10 years or three generations of the species (whichever is longer). In addition, any species with fewer than 10,000 mature individuals is considered vulnerable.
  • “Endangered” describes an organism threatened with extinction. A species is classified as endangered when its population has declined between 50% and 70% over 10 years or three generations of the species (whichever is longer). In addition, a species is classified as endangered when there are fewer than 2,500 mature individuals.

• What is the species range of the cheetah? Zoom in on our MapMaker Interactive map layer for some help.
  • Cheetahs exist in four major, discrete populations.
    • Southern Africa, mostly Namibia, Botswana, South Africa, and Zimbabwe, where their populations have now declined enough to warrant re-classification from “vulnerable” to “endangered” on the IUCN Red List.
    • Eastern Africa, where populations exist in pockets in South Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania.
    • Northwestern Africa, where a population exists in southern Algeria, Niger, Burkina Faso, and Benin.
    • An isolated population of cheetahs survives in Northern Iran. These Asiatic cheetahs are a critically endangered subspecies. Learn more about them here.

• Why should humans care about endangered species? Read a post from our “kid blogger” Olivia for some help.
  • There are almost 24,000 living things on the endangered list—and that number keeps growing. Check out the IUCN Red List for the most updated numbers
  • Ask students to think of their pets: What if that piece of trash on the ground ended up in their pet’s food bowl—would they let them eat it?

TEACHERS TOOLKIT

Nat Geo: Scientists Urge Endangered Listing for Cheetahs

Nat Geo: What are endangered species?

Nat Geo: Endangered Species Categories and Criteria

Nat Geo: Cheetah Ranges

Nat Geo: Endangered Species: Why Should I Care?