A Cheetah looks back while on display at [Getty Images]

A Cheetah looks back while on display at the animal orphanage in Nairobi's National Park on October 3, 2008. According to the African Wildlife Foundation (AWF), cheetahs have become extinct in many areas, principally due to shrinking habitat, loss of species to prey upon, disease and a high rate of cub mortality. Half the world's mammals are declining in population and more than a third probably face extinction, said an update Monday of the "Red List," the most respected inventory of biodiversity. A comprehensive survey of mammals included in the annual report by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) shows that a quarter of the planet's 5,487 known mammals are clearly at risk of disappearing forever. AFP PHOTO/Roberto SCHMIDT (Photo credit should read ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP/Getty Images)

AFP ROBERTO SCHMIDT