The cheetah has always been one of my very favorite critters.
The ones I have met have been very docile and friendly;
unlike any of the other big cats.
Unfortunately, cheetahs in the wild have not fared so well.
Status of the Cheetah
Once widespread across the Africa and Asia, cheetah populations have plummeted, following decades of habitat loss and competition with rival carnivores, such as lions, leopards, and hyenas, and also persecution by farmers. Ancient Egyptians often kept cheetahs as pets, and also tamed and trained them for hunting, although they did not domesticate them. Cheetahs are still tamed in the modern world, much to their detriment as the demand in the illegal pet trade continues.
Today, only 12,000 to 15,000 cheetahs remain in Africa, and less than 100 may survive in Iran. The country with the largest population is Namibia, home to about 3,000 cheetahs.
Cheetahs are one of the most popular animals in zoos, serving as ambassadors for their wild counterparts. They are, however, a challenging species to manage in zoos because: they are difficult to breed due to their unique social and breeding behaviors: the adult females are solitary and adult males often live in social groups, and female cheetahs are very selective in choosing mates.
Cheetah Research Today
At the present time, promising new scientific investigations are being conducted to assist cheetah breeding including:
• Artificially inseminating zoo cheetahs with cryo-preserved sperm from cheetahs from the wild in Namibia to improve the genetics of the population
• Improving the breeding techniques and management of zoo animals to increase cub production and improved cub survival rates
• Improving in vitro fertilization and embryo culture techniques to consistently produce cheetah embryos for transfer
• Studying the relationship between cheetah age and subsequent reproductive ability
• Promoting veterinary investigations into kidney function and the causes and treatments of disease
I’ll have more for you tomorrow…
Jacquie
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