Cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus)- Data, Pictures & Videos

[Acinonyx sp.]

Cheetahs Race for Survival: Ecology and Conservation

Abstract

Cheetahs reach speeds of up to 113 km/h accelerating from zero to 96 km/h in 3s. Revered for 5000 years throughout Asia, Europe and Africa has contributed to the species decline. Today’s wild cheetah population is estimated at 7100 adult and adolescents, a 90% reduction from a century ago, and a range reduction of 9%. Over 80% live outside protected areas where human-wildlife conflict occurs. Female cheetahs live solitarily with their cubs; male cubs form lifelong coalitions. Living in low densities cheetahs’ home ranges cover over 1500 km2, requiring large landscapes with prey. Although cheetahs’ lack genetic diversity from a historic population bottleneck, their greatest conservation problems are humans. Habitat loss and declining preybase leads to conflict with livestock farmers. Additionally, illegal wildlife trafficking of cubs is affecting small populations in the Horn of Africa. Solving the cheetah conservation crisis is critical and involves addressing a complex web of social, environmental and economic issues, and depends on a holistic approach balancing the needs of humans and cheetahs sharing land. Research into conserving and restoring habitat for cheetahs includes training, the use of Livestock Guarding Dogs, and other conflict mitigation strategies, addressing habitat loss, dismantling the illegal pet trade, and encouraging coexistence.

1. Introduction

The cheetah, Acinonyx jubatus, is one of the oldest big cat species, with ancestors that can be traced back more than five million years to the Middle Pliocene era [1, 2, 3]. The cheetah is also the world’s fastest land mammal, an icon of nature, and the most unique of the 41 species of cats [4]. The hunting style of the cheetah—to swiftly pursue prey over a moderate distance—necessitates some morphological and physiological specializations for both prey-killing and locomotion [5].

As an animal built for speed, all parts of its body have evolved for precision and agility. Because of its small, aerodynamic head, lean body, long legs, flexible backbone and tail that works like a boat’s rudder, the cheetah can change direction in a split second and reach speeds of up to 113 km/h while turning 180° [6, 7, 8]. With each stride, the cheetah covers 6 m with just one foot touching the ground at a time; at two points in the stride, all four feet are in the air. The cheetah’s flexible spine acts like a spring as it doubles up with feet under its body to clench the earth with powerful, semi-non-retractable claws, thrusting it forward with great speed and maximum distance. The cheetah is not only the fastest running land mammal; it is also known for its rapid acceleration, as it can go from zero to 96 km/h in just 3 s [6].

With less than 7100 adults and adolescents remaining [9], the cheetah is one of the most endangered big cat species. Cheetah numbers have declined primarily due to increased human-wildlife conflict, loss of habitat and loss of prey, and the illegal wildlife trade. In addition to these threats, cheetahs lack genetic variation due to a historic population bottleneck, approximately 12,000 years ago, which makes the cheetah more vulnerable to ecological and environmental changes [10, 11, 12].

Today, nearly 80% of the remaining world’s cheetahs are found outside of protected areas living near rural livestock farming communities [9]. Protected areas, such as wildlife reserves or national parks typically have higher densities of larger or more aggressive predator species that can outcompete cheetahs, making it difficult for cheetahs to survive. Despite being one of the best hunter species on the savanna, cheetahs often lose their kills to larger predators. In protected areas, cheetahs have been found to lose 10–15% of their kills to lions (Panthera leo), leopards (Panthera pardus), jackals (Canis aureus), and hyenas (Hyaenidae) [13, 14]. In addition to hunting pressures, cheetahs face direct threats by larger carnivores that may try to kill an adult cheetah or its young, to reduce competition for prey and territory [13, 14, 15, 16, 17].

Living outside protected areas prevents threats by other predators but puts the cheetah in direct conflict with commercial and subsistence livestock farmers [18, 19]. These farmers often perceive cheetahs to be a threat to their livestock, which leads into economic and emotional issues. The Rangewide Cheetah and Wild Dog program, an IUCN Cat Specialist endorsed program, brings together conservation organizations across the cheetah’s range to work on a more sustainable future for cheetahs and farmers. Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF), Cheetah Conservation Botswana (CCB), and the Ruaha Carnivore Project work with other stakeholders, such as community members, local and national governments, conservancies and scientists to develop and implement action plans for cheetah conservation throughout its range [9, 20, 21, 22, 23].
As human populations grow, so do the chances of conflict with cheetahs. Simultaneously, available rangeland will shrink, along with the wild prey base, hastening the decline of the cheetah [24, 25]. If the observed trends of decline among cheetah population continues, the world’s fastest land mammal could become extinct within the next 15–20 years [26].

2. Cheetah distribution

The cheetah was once one of the most widely distributed of all land animals. Through the course of time the cheetah was found from North America to China, throughout Asia, India, Europe, and Africa. About 20,000 years ago, it settled into its current range [3, 27].

A century ago, approximately 100,000 cheetahs were found in at least 44 countries throughout Africa and Asia. Today, the current free-ranging populations of cheetahs are restricted to 10% of their former range, found only in small, fragmented areas spread across 23 countries in Africa (in North Africa, the Sahel, East Africa and southern Africa), however, two thirds of these countries’ cheetah populations number less than 200 individuals [9, 28]. It is estimated that fewer 50 wild cheetahs remaining in Iran, the last of the Asiatic population [9, 29].

Today, viable populations may be found in less than half the countries where cheetahs still exist. Cheetahs are particularly difficult to census due to their large home ranges, which average more than 1500 km2 [14, 30, 31, 32], and their shy nature, an instinct that has been reinforced because of persecution on farmlands, where they are shot, trapped and chased [19, 22, 33, 34]. As a result of persecution and due to their naturally large home ranges, wherever they live they occur in low densities [34].

All populations of cheetahs are listed on the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Fauna and Flora (CITES) Appendix 1 and are classified as Vulnerable or Endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) [35]. All cheetah populations are threatened due to habitat reduction and declines in prey populations, which bring them into increased contact (and ultimately conflict) with farmers and livestock [14, 20, 21, 22, 23, 33].
Due to its declining numbers and genetic lack of diversity, it is important to protect remaining wild cheetah populations to ensure the species chances for survival. An evaluation of conservation priorities in each country where the cheetah is found has been conducted to better understand the issues involved in achieving this goal [20, 21, 22, 23, 33, 36]. The remaining strongholds for cheetahs are Namibia and Botswana, in southern Africa; and Kenya and Tanzania in East Africa (see Figure 1). With approximately 20% of the world’s remaining wild cheetahs and successful efforts to conserve its wild population, Namibia is popularly known as “The Cheetah Capital of the World.”

*This image is copyright of its original author

Figure 1.


Historic and current: cheetah range map [28].

As a result of habitat fragmentation over time, there are currently four genetically confirmed subspecies of cheetah, three African and one Asiatic subspecies [4, 12, 37]. These subspecies are physically distinct from one another, and research is still ongoing to determine the genetic uniqueness of each. One previously-accepted subspecies, the Northeastern African Cheetah, Acinonyx jubatus raineyii, which was found in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda, was determined in 2017 to be a conspecific of A.j. jubatus in 2017 and reclassified as such [4]. The currently classified subspecies of cheetah are as follows:

2.1. Asiatic cheetah
Acinonyx jubatus venaticus originally found throughout Asia in Afghanistan, India, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Oman, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Syria and Russia [38], but now there are approximately 50 remaining in a small, fragmented populations in Iran [29]. These cheetahs have denser fur and what appears to be a mane, which is actually extra tufts of hair on their neck and shoulder blades. This thicker coat keeps them warm in the cooler nighttime temperatures of their environment.

2.2. Northwestern African or Saharan cheetah
Acinonyx jubatus hecki, historically found in Northwest Africa in Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Niger, Mauritania, Mali and in some western African countries, including Benin, Burkina Faso, Senegal and Ghana [38]. Today, small populations remain in Algeria, Niger, Benin, and Burkina Faso [28]. Most are in the central western region of the Saharan desert and the Sahel. Unique in appearance, this subspecies in critically endangered with only approximately 250 individuals remaining. Saharan cheetahs are extremely pale, almost white in color. Their coloring provides them with a natural defense against detection in the desert environment. Sometimes there are no spots on its face and its tear marks appear to be missing. In general, they are smaller than the other subspecies. This may be a product of their desert environment, where there is less prey for them to hunt.

2.3. Eastern African or Sudan cheetah
Acinonyx jubatus soemmeringii, was historically found in Sudan, Djibouti, Cameroon, Niger, Nigeria, Chad, Ethiopia and Somalia [38]. Today, small populations are in Chad Ethiopia, Somali, Somaliland, and South Sudan [28]. This subspecies is the richly colored.
2.4. Southern African cheetah
Acinonyx jubatus jubatus, originally found throughout Namibia, Botswana, South Africa, Zambia, Angola, Mozambique, Malawi, and Democratic Republic of Congo and Zimbabwe [38]. Today, over 50% of the remaining cheetahs are found in Namibia and Botswana, with small populations in Angola, South Africa Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe [28], and the new classification of those from Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda [4]. They have large home ranges that can encompass hundreds of square kilometers.

Cheetahs have evolved for speed and are not built to fight other predators. Because of this, they are shy in nature and will often abandon their kills in the presence of more robust predators, such as lions, leopards and hyenas [14, 39]. To combat this, cheetahs are typically diurnal hunters, as opposed to other large predator species, such as lions, hyena, and leopards, which are nocturnal [39, 40]. Their lack of defense against these predators has led to 80% of the current cheetah range being on farmland habitat [28, 41].

Female cheetahs live solitary lives and do not form coalitions. After a 93 to 95-day gestation, solitary female cheetahs give birth to two to six cubs, with 3.5 being the average litter [13, 28, 42]. Cubs stay in the den for the first 6 weeks, with females moving their cubs to different nest sites for protection [39, 43].

At 6 weeks of age, the cubs leave the den and follow their mother. At first, cubs will stay hidden while their mother begins to stalk prey. While the cubs are on their own, they may chase after inappropriate prey animals, such as jackals or birds [13]. To teach them how to catch appropriate prey, their mother will capture and release prey for the cubs to play with to practice their hunting skills [13]. The cubs will begin to chase the prey and trip it before the mother eventually comes and kills it for them [43]. Cubs start initiating their own hunts at about 1 year of age but are not proficient until they are independent [13]. Cubs stay with their mother for about 18–22 months. Even after they become independent, it can take cubs up to 3.5 years to master hunting [13]. Female cubs establish their home ranges within their mother’s larger home range, so there is familiarity among female cheetahs that are related [44].

Once the young males disperse they will not maintain a territory until they are 4–5 years of age [13, 18]. Male cheetahs remain with their other male siblings from birth, forming a coalition for life. This behavior increases hunting success and is a defense against predators. By sticking together, they can hold and defend a better territory, where wildlife prey is abundant [39]. This also increases the chances of a greater number of desirable females coming into the territory for breeding.
Members of a coalition are very bonded to one another. If separated, they do a lot of vocalizations. Cheetahs have a variety of unusual vocalizations including a dog-like bark and a bird-like chirp for calling between each other [13, 39]. Other sounds they make include a bubble or “uhun” sound, a hiss, and a growl. They are also very affectionate to each other. They purr and lick each other’s faces. Male coalitions work together when hunting and are able to hunt larger prey together. Cheetah coalitions are very stable, and the bond of brotherhood is permanent.

4. Cheetah ecology

Cheetahs require vast expanses of land with prey and other resources [9, 45]. Research in Namibia shows that cheetahs have an average home range of 1500 km2 with individuals covering 20–40 km in a week, but live in low densities throughout their range [14, 39, 45, 46]. Most cheetahs live in open grasslands and savanna, which are arid environments [35]. Throughout the cheetahs range, cheetahs are known to use tall trees for greater visualization as well as territorial markings. In Namibia, these trees have been called “playtrees,” as cubs are often seen climbing into them, or “newspaper tree,” as male cheetahs use these trees for leaving their territorial scent marks, urine and feces [14, 47]. However, in many ecosystems throughout the cheetah ranges, bush encroachment, a form of desertification caused by overgrazing arid landscapes as well as the decline of many of the large mega-herbivores, has caused a problem for cheetah hunting ability as well as altering the mix of wildlife [47]. Bush encroachment results in the prolific growth of a native plant species, Senegalia sp., commonly known as thornbush [47]. On traditionally open savanna lands where cheetahs hunt using their natural advantage, speed, bush encroachment changes the landscape. Increased bush limits the cheetahs’ vision and speed, which lowers their hunting success, ultimately altering the mix of wildlife [47, 48]. Decreased vision does not just hinder their hunts, as cheetahs are also more likely to consider livestock as prey over wildlife, becoming a problem animal to farmers and increasing conflict [49]. Throughout Africa, cheetahs are known to frequent certain trees [14, 47].

Changes in the arid ecosystems in favor of human needs have also created problems, mainly from overgrazing of livestock leading to desertification, leaving limited grazing for wildlife. Further compounding this issue, forces of nature that are unpredictable and difficult to manage such as climate change, negatively affect agriculture and wildlife as rangelands become drier and vegetation is altered [50]. This also affects distribution and abundance of prey [14, 45]. And, as the human population grows, air and water become more polluted, habitat is lost to development, and the climate crisis deepens. Ultimately, the cheetah’s chances for survival depend greatly on the re-balancing of the ecosystem and the restoration of habitat so it will support sufficient natural prey [26].

Learning to hunt is the most critical survival skill that the cubs must develop [13]. At 1-year-old cubs are participating in hunts and the mother, while assuring enough kills for the family’s survival, will allow the cubs to join in. Cheetahs hunt in the early morning and early evening and capture their prey by stalking to within 10–30 yards or as far as 80 yards before beginning the chase [13]. During a hunt, cheetahs usually catch their prey after an average 200-yard sprint [13]. Although fast, their ability to accelerate at a high speed is most critical, and their maneuverability enabling them to turn rapidly is more important than their speed. Most hunts take place at a slower speed, as prey are dodging in efforts to flee [39]. Successful hunters need not only speed but stealth as well. They move slowly and remain low in the grass, staying downwind, sometimes hiding behind small mounds to obscure their approach, taking advantage of their coloring to camouflage their appearance and blend into their surroundings [13].

Only 10% of cheetah chases are successful, and diet depends largely on where the cheetah lives [13]. Medium-sized and smaller prey, such as antelope and gazelles, hare and the young of larger antelope like wildebeest (Connochaetes), kudu (Tragelaphus sp.) or oryx (Oryx sp.) and small warthog (Phacochoerus) are the most common targets, and coalition males often take larger prey species like zebra (Equus hippotigiris, E. dolichohippus), kudu or ostrich (Struthionidae) [14]. Asiatic cheetahs prey on goitered gazelle (Gazella subgutturosa), ibex (Capra sp.), wild sheep (Ovis sp.) and chinkara (Gazella bennettii) [14]. Factors that lead to a successful hunt include herd size, prey response, number of cheetahs hunting, and the distance the cheetah runs [13, 39]. The cheetah can go days without water because they get hydration they need from the blood of their prey and will gorge themselves on a big enough kill and then fast for 2–5 days; however, they will hunt daily if possible [13].
Threats from other predators is one of the main reasons why nearly 80% of wild cheetahs today are found outside of protected areas (like national parks or wildlife reserves) and living alongside human communities [9, 28, 39]. In protected areas, cheetahs often lose their kill to larger and more aggressive predators. Cheetahs tend to lose 10–15% of their kills to other predators [39]. Cheetahs are apex predators and the best hunters on the savanna, they feed many species with their kills’ thus increasing biodiversity of the ecosystem in which they live [14]. Without this balance, other species within the ecosystem will also be adversely affected, ultimately resulting in negative consequences for the human population.

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