Northeast African cheetah

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Northeast African cheetah
A female cheetah in
Zoo Landau, Germany
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Suborder: Feliformia
Family: Felidae
Subfamily: Felinae
Genus: Acinonyx
Species:
A. jubatus
Subspecies:
A. j. soemmeringii[1]
Trinomial name
Acinonyx jubatus soemmeringii[1]
(Fitzinger, 1855)
A. j. soemmeringii range (brown)
Synonyms

A. j. megabalica (Heuglin), 1863
A. j. wagneri Hilzheimer, 1913

The Northeast African cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus soemmeringii) is a cheetah subspecies occurring in Northeast Africa. Contemporary records are known in South Sudan and Ethiopia, but population status in Eritrea, Djibouti, Somalia and Sudan is unknown.[2]

It was first described under the

Tiergarten Schönbrunn in Vienna.[3] It is also known as the Sudan cheetah.[4]

In the 1970s, the cheetah population in Ethiopia, Sudan and Somalia was roughly estimated at 1,150 to 4,500 individuals.[5] In 2007, it was estimated that 950 individuals live inside protected areas in this region; the number of individuals living outside protected areas is unknown.[2]

This subspecies is more closely related to the

Southern African cheetah than to Saharan cheetah populations. Results of a phylogeographic analysis indicate that the two subspecies diverged between 16,000 and 72,000 years ago.[6]

Taxonomy

Alfred Edmund Brehm
, 1895

Cynailurus soemmeringii was the

Following Fitzinger's description, other naturalists and zoologists described cheetahs from other parts of Northeast Africa that today are considered synonyms of A. j. soemmeringii:[1]

Evolution

For a

Southern African cheetah are genetically different from each other and from the Asiatic cheetah. The Northeast African cheetah probably diverged from the Southern African cheetah between 32,200 and 244,000 years ago. Therefore, it was proposed that it deserves a subspecific status.[6]

Physical characteristics

At Whipsnade Zoo, Bedfordshire

Like its relative to the south in East Africa, the Northeast African cheetah is fairly large. Physically, it most resembles the East African cheetah; it has a densely ochraceous spotted coat with relatively thick and coarse fur in comparison to its relatives from eastern and northwestern Africa. The belly of the Northeast African cheetah is distinctly white while its breast and throat can have some black spots similar to the eastern subspecies. However, it is the darkest in fur color. This cheetah has the most widespread and separated black dorsal spots, but smaller than that of the East African cheetah's.[9][10] In contrast to the East African cheetah, the Northeast African cheetah has no spots on the hind feet, although some among the Chadian population have spotted hind legs.[4] This cheetah has distinct white patches around its eyes but the facial spotting can vary from very dense to relatively thin. The Northeast African cheetah has been seen with both white and black tipped tails, although certain cheetahs' tails are white tipped. This subspecies' tail is also notably thick.

This subspecies has the largest head size, but sometimes can get relatively smaller. However, it does not have mustache markings. The tear marks of this cheetah are highly inconsistent, but they are frequently thickest at the mouth corners, unlike those of the other four subspecies. This cheetah is the only subspecies not being reported to show a rare color variation. However, despite having the darkest fur color, certain cheetahs' fur color can be pale yellow or almost white as well. In cold climates, such as in Whipsnade Zoo, Northeast African cheetahs are the only African subspecies that can develop fluffy winter fur coats, although they are less developed than that of the Asiatic cheetah's.[11]

Distribution and habitat

Cheetah populations[2]
Country Estimate
Ethiopia Ethiopia 500
South Sudan South Sudan 462
Total 962

The Northeast African cheetah is

Badingilo National Parks.[2][12]

It inhabits wide open lands,

An Nil al Azraq in southeastern Sudan.[citation needed
]

Ecology and behavior

Hunting and diet

Northeast African cheetah

The cheetahs are carnivorous and mostly feed on herbivorous animals, such as

Barbary ostriches on few occasions. The Soemmerring's gazelles
are the most preferable prey. However, lack of Soemmerring's gazelles in the Northeast African cheetah's region caused near extinction in Sudan.

Enemies and competitors

Like other subspecies, they are threatened and outranked by larger predators in their area, such as

golden wolves
and a lone wild dog away.

Threats

The Northeast African cheetah is threatened by

habitat loss, and lack of prey. There is an increasing rate of Northeast African cheetah cubs mostly from Somaliland being smuggled to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen.[2]
Between 1972 and 2007, land-use changed considerably in Ethiopia's Afar Region. The extent of cultivated land increased by more than 700%, whereas woodland and grassland decreased by about 90%. The main cause for the reduction of woodland cover is firewood collection and charcoal production for sale, and use of wood for construction of houses.[14]

The cheetah is highly threatened by the illegal pet trade from Somaliland. Cheetah cubs are sold on the black market for over $10,000 but rescuing a single cub costs more than three times that much. The majority of captive cheetah cubs is thought to die before they are exported from Africa.[15][16]

Conservation

At the Djibouti Cheetah Refuge

Ethiopian Wildlife Conservation

The cheetah, together with the African wild dog, is considered emblematic of Ethiopia.

Ensessakotteh in a spacious enclosure.[21][22]

Semi-captive breeding program

There is a reproduction programme for the cheetah at the Djibouti Cheetah Refuge in Djibouti City, which first started in 2004.[23] The Djibouti Cheetah Refuge (also known as DECAN Cheetah Refuge) was first constructed in 2002 and the initial phase was opened a year later.[24]

Rewilding project in Arabia

Cheetahs in Sir Bani Yas, the UAE

There is also a

Sharjah's Arabian Wildlife Centre from the United Arab Emirates.[25][26]

Asiatic cheetahs once lived in the Arabian Peninsula until they became regionally extinct everywhere in the wild of the Middle-East in the early 1970s. The rewilding project officially started in 2008, when four captive-born Northeast African cheetahs had been reintroduced into the wild of Sir Bani Yas Island to roam free and maintain natural balance. The cheetahs are taught to breed, to survive and feed on sand and mountain gazelle on their own, then their offspring would successfully learn those instincts from their parents.[27]

Cheetahs are known to be difficult to breed and therefore, the survival rate of cheetah cubs is low both in the wild and in captivity. However, the project has been successful so far. In April 2010, the first four cheetah cubs had been born on the island from a successfully rewilded Northeast African cheetah mother named 'Safira'. According to conservation team, the cubs' mother had done an impressive job in taking care of her children. The cubs are recognized to be the first wild-born cheetahs in

Arabia in 40 years.[28][29][30][31]

The

Al-Wabra Wildlife Preservation (AWWP) from Qatar, Al-Dhaid Wildlife Centre from Sharjah, the Nakelee Wildlife Centre and the Wadi Al-Safa Wildlife Centre from Dubai are also part of the international breeding programme to help save the rare cheetah population which are breeding in captivity. The breeding programmes of the Middle-East are aiming to release the cheetah into the wild of Africa. There are currently 23 adults and 7 cubs in Wadi Al-Safa.[32][33]

In captivity

Cheetahs in Chester Zoo
Two cheetah cubs in Chester Zoo

There are breeding programs from

European Endangered Species Programme (EEP) which is reserved for European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA). The breeding programs have been successful.[34] The captive breeding projects for the Northeast African cheetah first started in the Middle East, after several years of populations of cheetahs decreasing due to cubs being used for commercial purposes.[18] Then European zoos started afterwards once the captive-born Northeast African cheetahs from the Arabian peninsula were sent to Zoological collections of Europe in Netherlands and Germany
.

Cheetahs are known to be difficult to breed, especially in captivity. The Northeast African cheetah has been breeding in captivity for many years in Arabian zoos, such as Al Ain Zoo and Arabian wildlife centers from Qatar, Sharjah and Dubai. The cheetahs breeding in European zoos are found at

Beekse Bergen Safari Park from Netherlands. The Fota Wildlife Park from Ireland, which bred hundreds of South African cheetahs, has bred its first Northern cheetah in 2013.[35]

The first captive breeding projects for the Northeast African cheetah started in Sheikh Butti Al-Maktoum's Wildlife Centre in early 1994, then followed by the Sharjah's Arabian Breeding Centre in late 2002 and Wadi Al Safa Wildlife Centre in 2003, until captive-bred Northeast African cheetahs from the Middle East were sent to two European zoos, Zoo Landau and Beekse Bergen Safari Park. La Palmyre Zoo would receive the cheetahs 6 months later as well.[citation needed]

Tamed cheetahs

Egyptian chariot, accompanied by a cheetah and slave
A tribesman bringing a cheetah and ebony as tribute to the King of Thebes (c. 1700 B.C.)

Both continents of Africa and Asia had 100,000 cheetahs in the 19th century. Cheetahs were once numerous in north, central and in the

Ancient Egyptians
often kept the cheetahs and raised them as pets, and also tamed and trained them for hunting mammals. Tamed cheetahs were taken to open hunting fields in low-sided carts or by horseback, hooded and blindfolded, and kept on leashes. When the prey was near enough, the cheetahs would be released to go after it.

This was the Egyptian tradition that was later passed on to the ancient

Persians
and brought to India, where the practice with Asiatic cheetahs was continued by Indian princes into the 12th century.

See also

References

  1. ^
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  2. ^ a b c d e Durant, S.; Mitchell, N.; Ipavec, A. & Groom, R. (2015). "Acinonyx jubatus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2015: e.T219A50649567.
  3. ^ a b Fitzinger, L. (1855). "Bericht an die kaiserliche Akademie der Wissenchaften über die von dem Herrn Consultatsverweser Dr. Theodor v. Heuglin für die kaiserliche Menagerie zu Schönbrunn mitgebrachten lebenden Thiere". Sitzungsberichte der Kaiserlichen Akademie der Wissenschaften. Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Classe. 17: 242–253.
  4. ^ a b Harper, Francis, (1886-1972) Sudan Cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus soemmeringii) Extinct and vanishing mammals of the Old World: 280.
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  7. ^ Heuglin, T. von (1863). "Über katzenartige Raubthiere des obern Nilgebietes". Verhandlungen der Kaiserlichen Leopoldino-Carolinischen Deutschen Akademie der Naturforscher. 4 (3): 22–23.
  8. ^ Hilzheimer, M. (1913). "Über neue Geparden nebst Bemerkungen über die Nomenklatur dieser Tiere". Sitzungsberichte der Gesellschaft Naturforschender Freunde zu Berlin (5): 283–292.
  9. ^ Heller, E., Roosevelt, T. (1914) Soudan Cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus soemmeringii) Life-histories of African game animals (1914): 248.
  10. ^ Edmund Heller (1913). "New Races of Carnivores and Baboons from Equatorial Africa and Abyssinia" (PDF). Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections. Retrieved 30 December 2016. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  11. ^ "Big Picture: Bedfordshire's Easter cheetahs". BBC News. 29 March 2013. Retrieved 4 June 2015.
  12. ^ IUCN SSC (2007). Regional conservation strategy for the cheetah and African wild dog in Eastern Africa. Gland, Switzerland: IUCN Species Survival Commission.
  13. ^ Denis-Hoot, 198.
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  15. ^ DOTWnews (17 July 2014). "Cheetahs traded as 'luxury pets' in Middle East at risk of extinction". Destinations Of The World News. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
  16. ^ "Three cheetah cubs to enjoy new life after rescue from illegal pet trade". Wildlife Extra News. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
  17. ^ "National action plan for the conservation of cheetah and African wild dog in Ethiopia" (PDF). 2012. Retrieved 23 July 2015. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  18. ^ a b Emily Wax (9 January 2006). "Cheetahs Find Rare Refuge Amid Poverty Of Ethiopia". The Washington Post. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
  19. ^ "Ethiopia's Cheetahs, Wild Dogs, and Lions Get National Action Plans". Wildlife Conservation Society. 19 April 2012. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
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  25. ^ Rayeesa Absal (6 April 2010). "Birth of four cubs signals return of cheetah to UAE". GulfNews.com. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
  26. ^ Binsal Abdul Kader (1 January 2011). "Rewilding of Cheetahs a big success in Sir Baniyas Island". GulfNews.com. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
  27. ^ John Henzell (22 February 2010). "Survival instinct kicks in for Sir Bani Yas cheetahs". TheNational.ae. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
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  29. ^ "Sir Bani Yas Island nature reserve is an 'Arabian Ark'". News.com.au. 13 February 2015. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
  30. ^ "The Northern Cheetah finds a new home on Sir Bani Yas Island". SirBaniYasIsland.com. 15 April 2010. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
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  32. ^ "Al Wabra Wildlife Preservation (AWWP)" (PDF). Retrieved 14 March 2015.
  33. ^ Colin Simpson (29 July 2012). "Wildlife centres in UAE toast births of cheetahs". TheNational.ae. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
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  35. ^ "FOTA CELEBRATES BIRTH OF 1st BABY CHEETAH IN 5 YEARS". FotaWildlife.ie. 25 October 2013. Retrieved 24 May 2015.

External links