Cape Town, December 4 (AP) — For over 35 years, American zoologist Laurie Marker has been diligently amassing a collection at a cheetah sperm bank in Namibia, with the hope that its use may never be necessary.
She harbors concerns, however, that the cheetah, honored as the fastest terrestrial creature, may face the threat of extinction, necessitating intervention through artificial reproduction.
At the Cheetah Conservation Fund, founded by Marker in Namibia, this "frozen zoo" of cheetah specimens has been curated since 1990 as a precautionary measure against possible drastic declines in their population over the past 50 years.
Marker, regarded as a leading authority on cheetahs, remarked from her research base near Otjiwarongo, Namibia, "You don't do anything with it until it's needed. And we never want to get to that point."
This World Cheetah Day, conservationists are observing the occasion amid concerns, given there are fewer than 7,000 cheetahs remaining in the wild—similar to the critically endangered black rhino's numbers. These cheetahs are distributed in about 33 distinct populations, primarily across Africa, with most groups consisting of fewer than 100 animals.
The cheetah, capable of reaching speeds of 70 miles per hour (112 kilometers per hour), faces threats from habitat destruction, human-wildlife conflicts, and illicit animal trade. The fragmentation and isolation of their populations have consequently diminished their genetic diversity, thereby affecting their reproduction rates.
Globally, there has been an alarming 80% reduction in their population over the last half-century, and they have been extirpated from 90% of their historical range.
Researchers speculate that cheetahs narrowly avoided extinction 10,000–12,000 years ago during the last ice age, leading to their current genetic bottleneck.
Marker indicated that the diminished genetic diversity, coupled with the fact that 70–80% of cheetah sperm is abnormal, may necessitate intervention in the future. "And so, a sperm bank makes perfect sense, right?" Marker noted.
Storing sperm isn't an approach solely applied to cheetahs; it's a strategy conservationists employ for various species, such as elephants, rhinos, antelopes, other large cats, and birds.
Marker highlighted the significance of animal reproductive research, especially in the urgent efforts to rescue the northern white rhino from extinction. At present, there are only two northern white rhinos remaining, both females—rendering the species functionally extinct with no possibility of natural reproduction. Their sole hope hinges on artificial reproduction using sperm collected and frozen many years ago.
Because the two northern white rhinos—a mother and daughter—are unable to carry pregnancies, scientists have endeavored to implant northern white rhino embryos into southern white rhino surrogates. The surrogates have yet to successfully carry any pregnancies to term, but the conservation team persists in their endeavors to prevent the extinction of northern white rhinos.
Efforts elsewhere have borne success, such as the breeding of black-footed ferrets using artificial reproduction after their population dwindled to a single wild group in Wyoming, USA.
Marker does not actively pursue cheetahs for collecting sperm but instead gathers samples opportunistically. In Namibia, cheetahs often face threats from farmers who perceive them as dangers to livestock, enabling Marker’s team to attend to injured or captured cheetahs and collect samples upon treatment and release.
Additional samples can be retrieved from deceased cheetahs. "Every cheetah is actually a unique mix of a very small number of genes. We will try to bank every animal we possibly can," Marker affirmed.
The samples, obtained from approximately 400 cheetahs and continuously accruing, are preserved at ultralow temperatures in liquid nitrogen at the Cheetah Conservation Fund’s laboratory. Given that breeding wild animals in captivity is prohibited in Namibia, Marker's research excludes artificial insemination.
In the event of a grim outlook for cheetahs, the initial recourse would rely on about 1,800 individuals residing in zoos and other controlled settings. Yet, Marker warned, "Cheetahs don't breed well in captivity, and as with the northern white rhinos, the sperm bank might become essential." Without this intervention, she cautioned, "We're not going to have much of a chance." (AP)
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