Effects Of Human Intervention On Cheetahs

Human intervention are both advantageous and disadvantageous to the biodiversity of the Felidae family. The way human intervention affects each of the following species of the family are explained below.

CHEETAHS
Cheetahs are endangered and even extinct in many areas today largely due to human intervention. Human beings have taken over much of the cats’ habitat and killed off the prey that the cheetahs hunt for food. People have also killed many cheetahs directly. By the early 1970's, the fur trade industry had become a major threat to large cats, especially cheetahs. During that time, the United States alone was importing 25,000 large-cat skins each year for fur products. However, the Endangered Species Act in 1973 and the Convention on
These acts and treaties demonstrate how human intervention is beneficial to the cheetah species. Nevertheless, cheetahs are still routinely shot by African farmers who view them as a threat to the livestock. In addition, Africa's animal parks and game reserves were created with the purpose of protecting many animals from human beings. However, cheetahs are poorly suited for life in these reserves. Within the borders of a typical reserve, herd animals are protected from human hunters and as a result, they thrive in numbers that would not be normally seen on the open savanna. As a result, populations of large and powerful predators, such as lions and leopards, also are high. Middle-sized predators, including cheetahs, suffer when they are forced to compete in this crowded and confined environment. Moreover, cheetahs that live in open grasslands are losing their habitats due to the expansions of human developments, such as towns. These expansions not only force the cheetahs out of their environment but also make them more vulnerable to other
Other threats to cougar populations include habitat loss and fragmentation and automobile accidents. Cougars thrives in a variety of habitats and one of those habitats is montane coniferous forests. Currently, the cougars that live in those forests are facing the difficult struggle of deforestation. By losing their habitat, they are not only losing their home, but they are also losing their survival advantage, prey, and safety. As a result, the cougar population has significantly decreased over the years. Cougars, who once ranged widely throughout North and South America, were largely wiped out from the eastern portion of the United States and Canada by European settlers in the 1700s. There is a small population in Florida, a subspecies known as the Florida panther. Florida panthers are gravely endangered, and organizations are working to maintain the current population. In recent years, sightings of cougars in the northeast United States and eastern Canada have been on the rise. The increase in cougar numbers demonstrates the effectiveness of human intervention and the laws put in to protect the habitats of