The British period saw its gradual but steady decline, aided no doubt by the preference of cheetahs for open country where they prey on the blackbuck. More than direct hunting, and trapping of cheetahs for use in hunts, changes in the habitat and reduction of the prey base led to their extinction. Divyabhanusinh shows that 127 cheetahs were killed or caught in the150-year-period ending 1960. Even this proved to be too great a drain, given the parallel pressures on prey and the habitat.