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Well, the cheetah is being illegally hunted.
Yeah, you might say "So what, there is a lot of them left anyhow."
May I tell you, yes, you're right, but you're
not saying the right thing. Let's reword that sentence: Well, the cheetah is being illegally hunted. "So, let's go help them!"
In Africa, there is gazelles, wildebeests,
zebras, giraffes, lions, and hyenas. Lots and lots, right? Well, all those animals sure eat a lot, the
plant eaters mostly. The cheetahs, by hunting will act as natural "pest protection". If deer were eating your garden,
and you buy a dog to chase away all the deer, there is not much of a problem anymore, right. That's the cheetah.
No cheetahs have ever been a man-eater. Sure, when hunting is scarce, they will steal a sheep from a
farmer or two. That's life. Farmers were killing them for that. One year, farmers killed over 5,000 cheetahs. Not very necessary,
because those farmers sure don't have 5,000 sheep. Just as a precaution. So, now farmers get dogs. I told you that one unarmed
human could chase a cheetah away, right? Well, a dog has twice the scaring away power, and will not hurt the cheetah. Imagine:
Hunting is bad and all you want is a nice juicy sheep. Uh-oh. Here comes this thing and is barking at you and
threatening to bite your head off. You obviously run away, right?
Farmers in Namibia have a right to shoot cheetahs, however, if they suspect
cheetahs killing their sheep. Sometimes they go over, and kill all the cheetahs they see, even if the cheetah that
killed their sheep is already dead.
Farmers in Africa have devised a way to scare off cheetahs from their
sheep harmlessly. Just, some poachers in Africa illegally poach the cheetah. And, also, as I told you already, lions
and hyenas steal cheetahs food from the hunt. Sometimes that happens so often that the cheetahs starve to death. We can't
fix that. The only thing that we can fix is the human-caused kind. Although it isn't happening
anytime soon, if we all work together and spread the word about the cheetahs, it might happen one day. Scientists estimate
that there might only be 10-20 years before the cheetahs die out, at the rate right now. So we have to work fast
to protect them from extinction.
See, cheetahs are innocent creatures. Tell a
couple of different people about their plight. They'll understand. If you find a site that goes towards cheetah conservation,
try and help them. A happy life has cheetahs in it!!
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