Here's how a cheetah sperm bank may protect the species

For 35 years American zoologist Laurie Marker has been collecting and storing specimens in a cheetah sperm bank in Namibia hoping conservationists never have to use themBut she worries that the worlds fastest land animal might be on the brink of extinction one day and need artificial reproduction to save itMarker says the sperm bank at the Cheetah Conservation Fund she founded in the southern African nation is a frozen zoo of cheetahs shes been building since 1990 It would be utilised in a worstcase scenario for the big cats whose numbers have dropped alarmingly in the wild over the last 50 yearsYou dont do anything with it unless until its needed Marker one of the foremost experts on cheetahs told The Associated Press from her research centre near the Namibian city of Otjiwarongo And we never want to get to that pointConservationists mark World Cheetah Day on Thursday with less than 7000 of them left in the wild similar numbers to the critically endangered black rhino There are only around 33 populations of cheetahs spread out in pockets mainly across Africa with most of those populations having less than 100 animals Marker saidLike so many species the sleek cats that can run at speeds of 70 miles per hour 112 km per hour are in danger from habitat loss humanwildlife conflict and the illegal animal tradeTheir shrinking isolated groups mean their gene pool is shrinking also as small populations continuously breed among themselves with repercussions for their reproduction ratesGlobally cheetah numbers in the wild have dropped by 80 pct in the last halfcentury and theyve been pushed out of 90 pct of their historical rangeScientists believe that cheetahs already narrowly escaped extinction at the end of the last ice age around 1000012000 years ago which first reduced their gene poolMarker said the lack of genetic diversity along with the fact that cheetahs have 7080 pct abnormal sperm mean they might need help in the futureAnd so a sperm bank makes perfect sense right Marker saidStoring sperm is not unique to cheetahs in the wildlife world Its a tactic that conservationists have developed for other species including elephants rhinos antelopes other big cats birds and othersThe value of animal reproductive research Marker said is seen in the desperate battle to save the northern white rhino from extinctionThere are just two northern white rhinos left both females making the species functionally extinct with no chance of reproducing naturally Their only hope lies in artificial reproduction using northern white rhino sperm that was collected and frozen years agoBecause both remaining northern white rhinos a mother and daughter cant carry pregnancies scientists have tried to implant northern white rhino embryos in southern white rhino surrogatesThe surrogates havent managed to carry any of the pregnancies to term but the conservation team has committed to keep trying to save northern white rhinos against all oddsOther efforts around artificial reproduction have been successful including a project that bred blackfooted ferrets using artificial reproduction after theyd been reduced to a single wild population in Wyoming in the United StatesMarker doesnt chase down cheetahs to collect their sperm but takes samples opportunisticallyIn Namibia cheetahs are mostly in danger from farmers who view them as threats to their livestock meaning Markers team are called out for cats that have been injured or captured and will collect samples while treating and releasing themSperm samples can also be taken from dead 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 saidThe samples from approximately 400 cheetahs and counting are now stored at ultralow temperatures in liquid nitrogen at the Cheetah Conservation Fund laboratory Markers research does not involve any artificial insemination as breeding wild animals in captivity is not allowed in NamibiaShould cheetahs be threatened with extinction again the first backup would be the roughly 1800 cats living in zoos and other captive environments But Marker said cheetahs dont breed well in captivity and the sperm bank might be like the northern white rhinos the last resortWithout it were not going to have much of a chance Marker saidThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever