Tears Of The Cheetah

TEARS OF THE CHEETAH - a story of genetic diversityDr Karobi Moitra , NCI FrederickWhere do cheetahs stand on the tree of life?Kingdom: AnimaliaPhylum : ChordataClass : MammaliaOrder : CarnivoraOrder : PrimatesFamily : FelidaeFamily : HominidaeGenus: AcinonyxGenus : HomoSpecies: A. jubatusSpecies: H. sapiensWhere did the name ‘cheetah’ come from ? Sanskrit word : Chitakayah- which means ‘variegated’ body - ‘marks or patches’’Hindi - ‘Chitah’English : CheetahCheetah range :Africa: Niger,Sudan, Ethiopia,Kenya,Tanzania,Namibia,Botswanaetc.Iran: KhorasanSE Asia: India?Pakistan?Some cool cheetah facts :• Cheetah eat gazelles, impala, zebra, hare etc.• They hunt in early morning or late in the afternoon• They hunt in groups• Rely on vision not scent to hunt• Adult cheetahs weigh ~ 140lb• Total body length over 6ft• Have a distinct ‘tear’ streakHow fast can cheetah’s run ? Cheetah’s can run upto 75 mph (120km/h)for 1,500ft or 1min 30 secs.Acceleration: 1-64 mph in 3 secsCheetah ChatterThe African cheetah population was down to around 15,000wild cheetahsSo conservationalists tried to breed them in captivity - thiswas very hard to do Also cheetah populations were very prone to disease, if afew cheetah were infected with a disease such as FIPV-feline infectious peritonitis virus, the rest become infectedand dieWHY?Journey to AfricaMitch Bush (National Zoo) & David Wildt (NCI)boarded a plane to the DeWildt cheetah breedingcenter in Pretoria (South Africa)They collected blood samples from around 80 cheetahsand brought them back to Stephen O’Briens lab at NCI-Frederick for analysis.Proteins in the cheetahs blood wereseparated and analyzed using a techniquecalled : Protein Gel Electrophoresis