Genetic vulnerability: how close kinship will affect the cheetah population

Despite the fact that cheetahs are unsurpassed hunters and the fastest ground creatures, they have one weak point. This is genetics. It turns out that cheetahs are very vulnerable, and all attempts to restore their population do not lead to significant results. As scientists were able to find out, all the representatives of this species living on Earth today are very close relatives, which negatively affects the genetic diversity of the population and the survival of the species.

Cheetahs are quite widespread in the vastness of Africa, and are also found in Asia. But, despite the vast range, their numbers everywhere, with the possible exception of Botswana, are extremely low. According to 2016 data, the number of this predator is within 7,000 individuals, and the Asian subspecies is on the verge of extinction, since in Iran - the last refuge of the subspecies - there are no more than 50 of them left. And this despite the fact that the species is everywhere under protection, and in Africa there are several nurseries specializing in raising kittens left without parents and caring for wounded adult cheetahs, which they adapt to natural conditions and try to return to the wild world.

The habitat of cheetahs: the darkest color shows the places of the highest concentration of felines of this species

According to experts, one of the reasons for the low abundance of the species is its genetic vulnerability. An international team of biologists, led by scientists from St. Petersburg, has analyzed the genetic material of various cheetahs living in different parts of Africa. But, despite the territorial disunity, their genetic material coincides by 90%, and in some cases this figure reached 99%. Most likely, all existing cheetahs are very close blood relatives, which negatively affects the state of the entire population.

Specialists note the low survival rate of cheetah cubs, which may be due to genetic proximity. In addition, cheetahs have weak immunity and are very vulnerable to a number of diseases, which is not characteristic of other feline ones. It is also associated with closely related bonds and a low variety of genes responsible for the body’s immune state. Such a sad picture, according to biologists, arose because cheetahs twice during their evolution passed through the “bottleneck” - the state of a population when its population is reduced to a critical level and leads to low genetic diversity. Alas, there is no way out of this situation, since it is not possible to increase the diversity of genes. Scientists can only observe and do everything possible to save the remaining cheetahs.