Pets and Pelts: Understanding and Combating Poaching and Trafficking in Cheetahs

Tricorache, Patricia; Nowell, Kristin; Wirth, Gilson Inácio; Mitchell, Nicholas; Boast, Lorraine K.; Marker, Laurie

doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-804088-1.00014-9

Cited by 13 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 4 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The cheetah as a species is classified as Vulnerable by the IUCN with a decreasing population trend (Durant et al 2015). Today all remaining wild cheetahs are distributed across 33 fragmented subpopulations (Durant et al 2017 Cheetahs are threatened by armed and human-wildlife conflict, decline in prey, habitat fragmentation, illegal persecution and hunting, and illegal trade (Ray et al 2005, Lindsey et al 2011, Durant et al 2014, Tricorache et al 2018. We argue that our findings have several implications for the conservation of cheetah as well as highlighting the need for further genetic studies and monitoring.…”

Section: Adaptive Immune System Diversity In Cheetahsmentioning

confidence: 74%

“…(3) The potential for genetic monitoring of illegal wildlife trade of cheetahs -Northeast Africa is a poaching hot-spot for the illegal cheetah pet trade, mostly to the Gulf states (Nowell 2014, Tricorache et al 2018. It is also likely the region with the greatest negative impact of illegal trade on wild populations of cheetahs (Nowell 2014).…”

Section: Conservation Status and Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The cheetah is one of the most wide-ranging carnivores with movements of up to 1,000km (Weise et al 2015) and home ranges up to 3,000km 2 , Weise et al 2015. Drivers of decline include armed conflicts, decline in prey, habitat change, human occupancy and related human-cheetah conflict, hunting, and illegal wildlife trade (Ray et al 2005, Lindsey et al 2011, Durant et al 2014, Tricorache et al 2018. Populations of A. j. venaticus in Iran and A. j. hecki in northwest Africa are listed as Critically Endangered by the IUCN (Belbachir 2008, Jowkar et al 2008, Durant et al 2015.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Conservation Genomic Analyses of African and Asiatic Cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) Across Their Current and Historical Species Range

Prost

Machado²,

Zumbroich³

et al. 2020

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

words)Cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) are majestic carnivores and the fastest land animals; yet, they are quickly heading towards an uncertain future. Threatened by habitat loss, human-interactions and illegal trafficking, there are only approximately 7,100 individuals remaining in the wild. Cheetahs used to roam large parts of Africa, and Western and Southern Asia. Today they are confined to about 9% of their original distribution. To investigate their genetic diversity and conservation status, we generated genome-wide data from historical and modern samples of all four currently recognized subspecies, along with mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and major histocompatibility complex (MHC) data. We found clear genetic differentiation between the subspecies, thus refuting earlier assumptions that cheetahs show only little population differentiation. Our analyses further showed that cheetahs from East Africa are more closely related to A. j. soemmeringii than they are to A . j. juabtus. This raises the need for a reclassification of the cheetah subspecies, as East African cheetahs are currently included into A . j. juabtus. We detected stronger inbreeding in the Critically Endangered A. j. venaticus (Iran) and A. j. hecki (Northwest Africa), and show that overall genome-wide heterozygosity in cheetah is lower than that reported for other threatened and endangered felids, such as tigers and lions. Furthermore, we show that MHC class II diversity in cheetahs is generally higher than previously reported, but still lower than in other felids. Our results provide new and important information for efficient genetic monitoring, subspecies assignments and evidence-based conservation policy decisions.

show abstract

Section: Adaptive Immune System Diversity In Cheetahsmentioning

confidence: 74%

Section: Conservation Status and Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Conservation Genomic Analyses of African and Asiatic Cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) Across Their Current and Historical Species Range

Prost

Machado²,

Zumbroich³

et al. 2020

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Climate change and human population growth compounds these threats to an already genetically compromised species [19,25,33,35,45,50]. Human-wildlife conflict, habitat loss and illegal wildlife trade have become the biggest threats to long-term cheetah survival [9,26,51,52].…”

Section: Threats To the Cheetahmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Wildlife trafficking is one of the top five transnational crimes and it is impacting affecting the survival of many species (U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime). While cheetahs are not poached at the same high rates as elephants and rhinoceros in Africa, an estimated 300 cheetah cubs are being smuggled out of the continent each year to supply the illegal pet trade [52] (Figure 2). Illegal capture is occurring mostly in Ethiopia, Somalia and northern Kenya, with most cases being reported in Somaliland [52].…”

Section: Threats To the Cheetahmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cheetahs Race for Survival: Ecology and Conservation

Marker¹

2019

Wildlife Population Monitoring

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Cheetahs reach speeds of up to 113 km/h accelerating from zero to 96 km/h in 3s. Revered for 5000 years throughout Asia, Europe and Africa has contributed to the species decline. Today's wild cheetah population is estimated at 7100 adult and adolescents, a 90% reduction from a century ago, and a range reduction of 9%. Over 80% live outside protected areas where human-wildlife conflict occurs. Female cheetahs live solitarily with their cubs; male cubs form lifelong coalitions. Living in low densities cheetahs' home ranges cover over 1500 km 2 , requiring large landscapes with prey. Although cheetahs' lack genetic diversity from a historic population bottleneck, their greatest conservation problems are humans. Habitat loss and declining preybase leads to conflict with livestock farmers. Additionally, illegal wildlife trafficking of cubs is affecting small populations in the Horn of Africa. Solving the cheetah conservation crisis is critical and involves addressing a complex web of social, environmental and economic issues, and depends on a holistic approach balancing the needs of humans and cheetahs sharing land. Research into conserving and restoring habitat for cheetahs includes training, the use of Livestock Guarding Dogs, and other conflict mitigation strategies, addressing habitat loss, dismantling the illegal pet trade, and encouraging coexistence.

show abstract

The potential and shortcomings of mitochondrial DNA analysis for cheetah conservation management

Meißner

Winter

Westerhüs³

et al. 2022

Conserv Genet

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

There are only about 7,100 adolescent and adult cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) remaining in the wild. With the majority occurring outside protected areas, their numbers are rapidly declining. Evidence-based conservation measures are essential for the survival of this species. Genetic data is routinely used to inform conservation strategies, e.g., by establishing conservation units (CU). A commonly used marker in conservation genetics is mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). Here, we investigated the cheetah’s phylogeography using a large-scale mtDNA data set to refine subspecies distributions and better assign individuals to CUs. Our dataset mostly consisted of historic samples to cover the cheetah’s whole range as the species has been extinct in most of its former distribution. While our genetic data largely agree with geography-based subspecies assignments, several geographic regions show conflicting mtDNA signals. Our analyses support previous findings that evolutionary forces such as incomplete lineage sorting or mitochondrial capture likely confound the mitochondrial phylogeography of this species, especially in East and, to some extent, in Northeast Africa. We caution that subspecies assignments solely based on mtDNA should be treated carefully and argue for an additional standardized nuclear single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) marker set for subspecies identification and monitoring. However, the detection of the A. j. soemmeringii specific haplogroup by a newly designed Amplification-Refractory Mutation System (ARMS) can already provide support for conservation measures.

show abstract

Pets and Pelts: Understanding and Combating Poaching and Trafficking in Cheetahs

Cited by 13 publications

References 4 publications

Conservation Genomic Analyses of African and Asiatic Cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) Across Their Current and Historical Species Range

Conservation Genomic Analyses of African and Asiatic Cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) Across Their Current and Historical Species Range

Cheetahs Race for Survival: Ecology and Conservation

The potential and shortcomings of mitochondrial DNA analysis for cheetah conservation management

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About