The Socioendocrinology of
Cheetah Reproduction
The Zoological Society of San Diego has had a long history of successfully breeding cheetahs. In the last 25 years, 125 cubs have been born at the Research Station at the San Diego Zoo's Wild Animal Park. In 2004, the Society received three new male cheetahs for breeding, including two brothers from Namibian stock. Proximate mechanisms mediating cheetah reproduction remain obscure, but one possibility is that novel animals can stimulate reproductive activity.
Randy Rieches and Farshid Mehrdadfar, Wild Animal Park Mammal Department, working with Dr. Fred Bercovitch, CRES Behavioral Biology Division, created a breeding protocol aimed at uncovering some possible links between hormones and behavior that could mediate reproductive success in cheetahs. The Behavioral Biology animal care staff are collecting fecal samples for hormone analysis and systematically recording cheetah behavior to determine the impact of novelty and familiarity on cheetah reproductive output. In some species, breeding success is maximized by mating with novel individuals on sequential pairings, while in others, familiarity with mates maximizes success.
The Research Station contains records compiled by the animal care staff that date back to 1979, and these data are currently being analyzed to provide a more solid framework for understanding cheetah reproduction. A preliminary analysis has revealed that litter size is independent of dam age, but cheetahs who are bred for the first time when older than five years of age have a more difficult time becoming pregnant than those who are initially paired when three years of age.
Only about 10,000 to 15,000 cheetahs survive in the wild. The goal is to improve the understanding of cheetah reproduction, as well as to participate in the cheetah Species Survival Plan (SSP) by trying to increase the number of cheetahs in zoological institutions in the United States. Cheetahs are important animal ambassadors for the Zoological Society, and by uncovering the dynamics of reproductive success in cheetahs, these cats will continue to be incorporated into our conservation education programs.
