Cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus)- Data, Pictures & Videos

[Sanju]

Do you think any success in reproduction of Persian leopard by artificial insemination will raise hopes regarding the reproduction in cheetahs? Captive breeding will not help Persian leopard cubs to come back to the nature; what do you think is the advantage of artificial insemination and reproducing cubs by this method, while they are not going to return nature?

Although artificial insemination can benefit leopard conservation in Iran, as well as other countries in the Caucasus, but learning the technique is equally important. For example, Iran Department of Environment is now considering the technique for the much rarer Asiatic cheetah. The Iran Department of Environment has announced that the cheetah population has decreased despite massive conservation investment, with a very tiny population now alive. Although it is globally announced that some 50 cheetahs are left in Iran, but many local conservationists cast a doubt over this number and consider it ambitiously overestimation. Therefore, captive breeding has been agreed by Iranian conservation agencies to be placed on the table, besides the on-going conservation actions in the wild.

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When the population of a species decreases drastically, there is a danger of inbreeding and consequently genetic drift which could hamper the long-term survival.
Natural mating has been already tried for Asiatic cheetahs kept in captivity, which sadly failed. Now, artificial insemination is considered to be the major option for conceiving an adult female Asiatic cheetah, named Delbar. Nonetheless, the chance of pregnancy and survival of the cubs is extremely low. Any achievement of using artificial insemination to breed Persian leopards would raise hopes for Asiatic cheetahs.

What measures have been taken to deal with canine distemper, which is pervasive among Persian leopards living in habitats, where the dogs are suffering from the disease?

In contrary to general rumours about the prevalence of Canine Distemper Virus among Persian leopards in Iran, there is no evidence of CDV occurrence in any leopard, nor in Iran neither in west Asia. We have found high prevalence of the CDV among local dog populations around some key leopard areas, but blood tests from leopards captured near these injected dog populations did not show any evidence of CDV in leopards. Surprisingly, these dogs are widely killed by leopards, while no sign of the CDV was seen in leopards. 

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Any achievement of using artificial insemination to breed Persian leopards would raise hopes for Asiatic cheetahs. 
Leopard is widely popular species in the Iranian community, even losing an individual could cause a backlash in the media. Therefore, as long as proper evidence of CVD prevalence in leopards in not available, calling it as a serious threat to Persian leopard might trigger the community’s emotions to react and to create expectation from conservation agencies to deal with the problem, when there is no evidence that the problem exists.

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