South African cheetah

The South African cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus jubatus), also known as the Namibian cheetah,^[3] is the most numerous and the nominate cheetah subspecies native to Southern Africa. Since 1986, it has been classified as Vulnerable by the IUCN.^[2] The South African cheetah live mainly in the lowland areas and deserts of the Kalahari, the savannahs of Okavango Delta and the grasslands of the Transvaal region in South Africa.

The total population of the South African cheetah has been estimated at more than 6,000 individuals,^[4][5] with Namibia having the largest cheetah population worldwide. Since 1990 and onwards, the population was estimated at approximately 2,500 individuals in Namibia, until 2015, the cheetah population has been increased to more than 3,500 in the country.^[6] There were 550 to 850 cheetahs left in South Africa. After many conservation efforts, the cheetah population has increased to more than 1,000 individuals. Since 2013, there are an estimated population of 1,200 to 1,300 cheetahs in South Africa.^[7][8] In Zimbabwe, on the contrary, the cheetahs' number have decreased. They have decreased from 400 to 165 cheetahs in the country. In 2007, there were 1,800 in Botswana, 100 in Zambia and between 50 and 90 in Mozambique.

The South African cheetah have gone extinct in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Lesotho and Malawi. The cheetahs have been reintroduced in Swaziland.^[2]

Historically, it was believed all cheetahs were genetically homogenous.^[9] This changed in January 2011, when the Asiatic cheetahs and the Sudan cheetahs were revealed to be distinct even from their closest relatives from South Africa.^[10][11]

Evolutionary history

For several years, all cheetah subspecies from Africa and Asia have been previously considered as genetically identical to each other, until DNA researches and analysis started in early 1990s when the South African cheetah and East African cheetahs are revealed to be separate subspecies.

The King cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus rex) was considered a different species in 1927 by naturalist Reginald Innes Pocock. It was discovered that it was a mutation caused by a recessive gene.^[12] The king cheetah is a rare variant of the South African cheetah, first discovered in Zimbabwe in 1926. The king cheetahs are found in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Botswana. In 2012, the cause of this alternative coat pattern was found to be a mutation in the gene for transmembrane aminopeptidase Q (Taqpep), the same gene responsible for the striped "mackerel" versus blotchy "classic" patterning seen in tabby cats.^[13]

The South African cheetah also has melanism as one of its rare color morph. A melanistic cheetah in Zambia was seen by Vesey Fitzgerald in the company of a spotted cheetah.

In September 2009, the Asiatic cheetah was believed to be identical to the African cheetahs. Stephen J. O'Brien from the Laboratory of Genomic Diversity of the National Cancer Institute stated that they have been separated from each other for only 5,000 years, which is not enough time to be classified as a separate subspecies.

Until in early 2011, genetic analysis showed distinctiveness and significant differences between three cheetah subspecies, two of which are closely related to the South African population. The Sudan cheetah from Northeast Africa have been diverged from its South African relative between 16,000 and 72,000 years ago, and the Asiatic cheetah's subspecific level differentiation had already occurred after separating from its South African relative between 32,000 and 67,000 years ago.^[10][11]

Physical characteristics

The South African cheetah is a medium-sized cat. An adult male cheetah's total size can measure up from 168 to 200 cm (66 to 79 in) and 162 to 213 cm (64 to 84 in) for females. Adult cheetahs are 70 to 90 cm (28 to 35 in) tall at the shoulder. Males are slightly taller than females and have slightly bigger heads with wider incisors and longer mandibles.^[14]

Measurements taken of wild South African cheetahs in Namibia indicate that the females range in head-and-body length from 113 to 140 cm (44 to 55 in) with 59.5 to 73 cm (23.4 to 28.7 in) long tails, and weigh between 21 and 63 kg (46 and 139 lb); males range in head-and-body length from 113 to 136 cm (44 to 54 in) with 60 to 84 cm (24 to 33 in) long tails, and weigh between 28.5 and 65 kg (63 and 143 lb).^[15]

The South African cheetah have a bright yellow or sometimes a golden coat, and its fur is slightly thicker than that of other subspecies. The white underside of the South African cheetah is very distinct, especially on the neck and breast, and it has less spotting on its belly. The spots on the face are more pronounced, and as a whole its spots seem more dense than those of most other subspecies. The tear marks of the South African cheetah are notably thicker at the corners of the mouth, and almost all of them have distinct brown mustache markings. Like the Asiatic cheetah, it is known to have fur behind their tail and have both white and black tips at the end of its tail. However, South African cheetahs may also have only black tips at the end of the tail.

In desert areas, such as the Kalahari Desert, South African cheetahs are somewhat smaller and skinnier with leaner bright colored fur, a trait the Northwest African cheetah has.

Habitat and distribution

The South African cheetah usually lives on grasslands, savannahs, arid environments, deserts, semi-desert areas and mountains. The cheetah can be found in open fields where they chase and hunt herbivorous mammals such as antelopes at a very high speed. In South Africa, the cheetah also prefers shrublands, high mountains, steppes, mountainous grasslands and areas with exotic vegetables where favorable preys are mostly available.

The South African cheetah is currently the only most common subspecies and was widespread everywhere on southern to central Africa, ranging from South Africa to the southern Democratic Republic of the Congo (Katanga Province) and southern Tanzania.

Namibia

In the past, less than 10,000 cheetahs were over hunted in farmlands in Namibia. Now, as of 2015, over 3,500 cheetahs live in Namibia today. The country holds the largest population of South African cheetahs worldwide. Most of them live on Namibian farmlands, others live in the Kalahari Basin and the central to northeastern region of the country. Although Namibian cheetahs are mostly found outside of protected areas, they also live in Naankuse Wildlife Sanctuary and Bwabwata National Park. The cheetahs are rather uncommon in Etosha National Park and in Palmwag.

Botswana

With 1,800 individuals as of 2007, Botswana holds the second-largest population of cheetahs. They are mostly found in the Kalahari Desert and Okavango Delta.

South Africa

In South Africa, cheetahs live in the Limpopo, Mpumalanga, North West and Northern Cape provinces. After conservation efforts throughout the years, cheetahs have been reintroduced in the eastern, western, southern parts and recently in the Free State province of the country.

Over 90% of the cheetah population are found outside protected areas such as game reserves and in farmlands.^[16] There are more than 412 cheetahs in Kruger National Park, sub-populations of 300 to 350 in parks and reserves, and 400 to 500 free-roaming on farmlands in the Limpopo and North West Province. Although, the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park is the stronghold for South African cheetahs living in South Africa. It is estimated that Kruger and Kalahari Gemsbok National Parks hold the largest populations. Those two large conservation areas are home to approximately 42% of South Africa's cheetahs.^[17]

Although, cheetahs were not common in South Africa.^[18] Except, as of now, the country holds the third-largest population of cheetahs. It is estimated about 1,300 cheetahs live in the wild.

Tanzania

On contrary to the Tanzanian cheetah that are widespread from central to northern Tanzania, the South African cheetahs lived in southern Tanzania instead. They range close to the Zambia/Malawi borders in the southwest to the southeasternmost part of the country. The South African cheetahs are found at Selous Game Reserve, Mpanga-Kipengere Game Reserve and the Uwanda Game Reserve.

Zimbabwe

The South African cheetah population have been dramatically decreased in Zimbabwe, from about a thousand to 400 as of 2007. Currently, the Zimbabwean population of cheetahs are estimated at 165 individuals.^[19]

The cheetahs are majorly found at the southern to central regions. Isolated populations are found in northwestern Zimbabwe, such as Victoria Falls, Matetsi and Kazuma Pan, also near the Mozambican border. Hwange National Park, the largest reserve with an area of 14,650 km² (5,660 sq mi), is the main stronghold for the Zimbabwean cheetahs.^[18][20]

South African cheetahs also live in Matobo National Park. The cheetahs of the Zambezi Valley are nearly extinct, as there are 3 individuals remaining in Matusadona National Park and 9 in the Mana Pools National Park. There are 29 individuals remaining in the Zimbabwean lowveld, most of which live in Gonarezhou National Park, private reserves (Bubye, Save, Malilangwe, Nuanetsi), and at the Chilojo Cliffs.^[21]

Zambia

In Zambia, the South African cheetahs are mostly spotted at Liuwa Plain National Park from the Western Province. They are also present at the Kafue National Park, near the Kafue River and at the Sioma Ngwezi National Park in the southwest corner of Zambia. There are approximately a hundred cheetahs living in the country.

Angola

South African cheetahs were once thought to be extinct from Angola, until they were spotted at Iona National Park in 2010 by Dr. Laurie Marker (Founder and Executive Director of the Cheetah Conservation Fund). The national park is also a suitable habitat for the cheetah, as it has a large open savannah and growing prey base such as springboks and oryx. It is the first time cheetahs have been sighted in the wild of Angola in 30 years.^[22]

Former range

In early 20th century, the African cheetah was widespread everywhere in the continent, until they lost most of their ranges and disappeared from 23 countries.

The South African cheetahs are locally extinct from the southern Democratic Republic of the Congo as well. They used to live in the Katanga, southern Bandundu, southern Kasai-Occidental and Bas-Congo. They probably extended to Kinshasa. It was previously estimated that about 100 to 500 cheetahs lived in the Congo between 1950-70s. Kundelungu National Park was one of the remaining stronghold for the cheetahs after recent extinction of Tanzanian cheetahs from Virunga National Park and Sudan cheetahs from Garamba National Park during the 1960s. Although, rumored sightings have been reported occasionally in the southern regions of the Congo, such as near the Angolan border, around the Sandoa Territory and on the Kibara Plateau of Upemba National Park.^[18]

There were previously 25 to 50 South African cheetahs in Malawi. However, they have been extirpated from the country due to loss of suitable habitats and lack of prey. Back in 1980, the South African cheetahs were only found in three protected areas (Kasungu National Park, Nyika National Park and Vwaza Marsh Game Reserve), also at the Zambia border in the west. In 1996, the cheetahs were nearly extinct from the country. In 2007, the cheetah are officially extinct from Malawi.^[2][23][24]

Ecology and behavior

Reproduction and life cycle

Male cheetahs are sociable and may live in a group of other males. Male South African cheetahs establish their territories by marking their territories by urinating on trees or termite mounds.

The females, on the other hand, are not sociable and do not establish a territory. They are solitary and avoid each other. However, they may live with their mothers, daughters or sisters on their home ranges. Female South African cheetah's home range's size can depend on the prey base. Cheetahs in southern African woodlands have ranges as small as 34 km² (13 sq mi), while in some parts of Namibia they can reach 1,500 km² (580 sq mi).

Female cheetahs can reproduce at 13 to 16 months of age and with an average age of sexual maturity between 20 and 23 months.^[25] The gestation can last for 90 to 95 days. South African cheetah cub births mostly occur at November to January in Namibia and November to March in Zambia.^[14] Female South African cheetahs hunt solo, except the cheetah cubs will accompany their mothers to learn how to hunt on their own after the age of five to six weeks. After the South African cheetah cubs reach 18 months of age, the mother will leave her cubs, and the siblings remain a group for a few months until the sisters leave the group and the brothers stay together.

Hunting and diet

The South African cheetah is a carnivorous mammal. It preys on medium-sized and large antelopes, also fast small animals such as Cape hares. It prefers impala, kudu, puku, oribi, springbok, gemsbok, steenbok, wildebeest, warthog, red hartebeest, and other ungulates. The South African cheetah's preferred prey species is the oryx and the nyala.

Enemies and competitors

Like all cheetahs, South African cheetahs are threatened and outranked by larger predators in their area. They are threatened by lions, African leopards, hyenas and African wild dogs, as they can kill cheetahs and/or steal their carcasses. The cheetahs would surrender their meals to spotted hyenas. Cheetahs are known to be unable to defend themselves against these predators. However, coalitions of male adult cheetahs can chase predators away. Although, a single cheetah can chase jackals and lone African wild dog away.

Threats

The South African cheetah is a vulnerable subspecies, due to poaching, habitat loss and lack of prey. Indiscriminate capture and removal of wild cheetahs in southern Africa continue to threaten the survival of this species, as it may reduce the genetic diversity in the wild and they breed poorly in captivity. The South African cheetah's survival is also threatened by inbreeding.

The cheetah was also highly threatened by hunting and range loss. In early 1930s, the cheetahs were hunted down and got almost extinct in South Africa. Therefore, it has lost most of its ranges, mostly in South Africa and Mozambique. Only a few dozens of them live in the southern part of Mozambique. It also disappeared from many regions of South Africa, only living in the northern and northeastern parts of the country.

During the 1970s, 9,500 cheetahs were killed in Namibian farmlands. As a protected species in Namibia, people are allowed to remove Namibian cheetahs only if they pose a threat to livestock or human life. Unfortunately, farmers might capture Namibian cheetahs, often removing or killing those that have not taken any livestock. Limited international trade in live animals and skins is permitted from Namibia, Zimbabwe and Botswana.^[25] 90% of the Namibian cheetah population live on farmlands.

Conservation status

There are several conservation projects for the cheetah species in Africa and Iran. Like the Asiatic cheetah, the South African cheetah got more attention from people than the other subspecies.

Three cheetah subspecies are included on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) list of vulnerable species (Three African subspecies threatened, Northwest African and Asiatic subspecies in critical condition) as well as on the US Endangered Species Act: threatened species - Appendix I of CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species).

Founded in Namibia in 1990, the Cheetah Conservation Fund's mission is to be the world's resource charged with protecting the South African cheetah and to ensure its future. The organization works with all stakeholders within the cheetah's ecosystem to develop best practices in research, education and ecology and create a sustainable model from which all other species, including people, will benefit. Approximately 12,400 cheetahs were estimated to remain in the wild in twenty-five African countries; Namibia has the most, with more than 3,500 individuals living mostly outside of protected areas. There have been successful breeding programs, including the use of in vitro fertilisation, in zoos around the world.

The cheetahs are known to be poor breeders in captivity. Though several organizations, such as the De Wildt Cheetah and Wildlife Centre have succeeded in breeding high numbers of cheetah cubs. In 2009, the center has bred more than 800 South African cheetah cubs.^[26]

Reintroduction projects

South Africa

The South African cheetah used to occur in several areas of Southern Africa. The species live mostly on the eastern and northern locations of South Africa. Since the 1960s and onwards, the cheetah is being reintroduced in their former ranges and in small reserves. The first known reintroductions were in KwaZulu Natal, Gauteng, Lowveld, Eastern Cape, Western Cape and Southern Kalahari. South African cheetahs have also returned in the Karoo, starting with Samara Private Game Reserve. There are currently approximately 1,300 cheetahs within the country.

A National Cheetah Metapopulation Project was launched in 2011 by the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT).^[27] Its purpose is to develop and co-ordinate a national metapopulation management plan for cheetahs in smaller fenced reserves in South Africa. For instance, the cheetahs have been reintroduced in approx. 50 of these South African reserves. Fragmented subpopulations of South African cheetahs are currently increasing in a few hundreds.^[28] As of July 2014, there are further plans to reintroduce the South African cheetahs in 6 more small fenced reserves over the next 3 years.

For the first time after 100 years of extinction since the colonial period, the cheetah has recently been reintroduced into the Free State in 2013,^[29] with two male wild cheetahs that have been relocated from the Eastern Cape's Amakhala Game Reserve to the Free State's Laohu Valley Reserve, where the critically endangered South China tiger from Save China's Tigers (SCT) are part of a rewilding project in South Africa. A female cheetah has yet to be reintroduced to Laohu Valley.^[30]

India

Asiatic cheetahs have existed in India for thousands of years, but as a result of hunting and other disastrous causes, cheetahs have been extinct in India since the 1940s. The critically endangered species currently live in Iran, as the country itself is unwilling to give their Asiatic cheetahs to India. A captive propagation project has been proposed. Minister of Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh told the Rajya Sabha on 7 July 2009, "The cheetah is the only animal that has been described extinct in India in the last 100 years. We have to get them from abroad to repopulate the species." He was responding to a call for attention from Rajiv Pratap Rudy of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). "The plan to bring back the cheetah, which fell to indiscriminate hunting and complex factors like a fragile breeding pattern is audacious given the problems besetting tiger conservation." Two naturalists, Divya Bhanusinh and MK Ranjit Singh, suggested importing South African cheetahs from Namibia, after which they will be bred in captivity and, in time, released in the wild.^[31]

Multiple suitable potential sites from the Indian states of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan which consisted of forests, grasslands, savannahs and deserts were chosen for the cheetah reintroduction project in India, such as Banni Grasslands Reserve, Desert National Park, Palpur-Kuno Wildlife Sanctuary, Nauradehi Wildlife Sanctuary and Gajner Wildlife Sanctuary. They are also known to be where the Asiatic cheetahs and other mystical animals coexisted for several years until they had recently gone extinct from the region.

However, the plan to reintroduce the South African cheetahs to India has been suspended in 2012, after discovering the distinctness between the cheetahs from Asia and Africa, having been separated between 32,000 to 67,000 years ago.^[32][33]

In captivity

Cheetahs are known to be difficult to breed in captivity because of their social behaviors and breeding problems. The cub mortality in captivity and in the wild is high at about 50%. On average 30% of all captive-bred cubs born in captivity may die within a month.^[25]

The South African cheetahs are the most widespread subspecies breeding in captivity around the world, while the Sudanese cheetahs are found only in a few European and Middle Eastern zoos and wildlife centers. The South African subspecies is found in various zoos worldwide in America, Africa, Eurasia and Australia.

Several zoos, facilities, breeding centers and wildlife parks part of the American (SSP, AZA) and Eurasian (EEP, EAZA) captive breeding programs have been successfully increasing the South African cheetah populations, such as White Oak Conservation from Yulee, Florida, the Wildlife Safari from Winston, Oregon that bred more than 178 cheetahs and the De Wildt Cheetah and Wildlife Centre from South Africa where hundreds of cheetah cubs have been born. The Fota Wildlife Park from Ireland is also known for successfully breeding South African cheetahs in captivity right before starting a captive breeding project with the Northeast African cheetah.

In popular culture

• The book How It Was with Dooms tells the true story of a family raising an orphaned East African cheetah cub named Duma (the Swahili word for cheetah) in Kenya. The films Cheetah (1989) and Duma (2005) were both loosely based on this book. However, Duma takes place in South Africa instead of Kenya. The cheetahs that starred in the film were South African cheetahs from the Kragga Kamma Game Park of the Eastern Cape province. In November 2011, one of the five adult cheetahs that starred in the film had died from an unusual kidney failure.
• The Wiki Indaba is a 3-day conference held at Johannesburg, which gathered African Wikimedians and other volunteers who strengthen Wikipedia and Wikimedia structures in Africa. The Wiki Indaba logo which was re-worked in 2014 has a South African cheetah portrait on it.
• The Toyota Free State Cheetahs, founded in 1895, is a South African rugby union team that participates in the annual Currie Cup tournament. They have South African cheetah running at high speed as their emblem.
• The Central Cheetahs is another South African rugby union team from Bloemfontein founded in 2005 that have a running South African cheetah as their emblem.

See also

• Tanzanian cheetah

References

Wikispecies has information related to: Acinonyx jubatus jubatus

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Acinonyx jubatus jubatus.

Indian Big Cats Current in wild Asiatic lion (P. leo persica) Black panther (Black leopard) Bengal tiger (P. tigris tigris) Clouded leopard (N. nebulosa) Indian leopard (P. pardus fusca) Snow leopard (P. uncia) Extinct from wild White Bengal tiger Extinct from India Asiatic cheetah (A. jubatus venaticus) Under reintoduction Asiatic lion (P. leo persica) South African cheetah (A. jubatus jubatus)