Tanzanian cheetah

Taxonomy

The Tanzanian cheetah's scientific name was also sometimes known as Felis fearsoni by Scottish zoologist Andrew Smith in 1834 (also spelled "fearoni", "fearonii" or even "fearonis" by Fitzinger in 1869). Although, that name was meant to be given to the South African cheetahs which Smith found at the northeast of the Natalia Republic. Therefore, A. j. fearsoni was never a scientific name or synonymous to Tanzanian cheetahs from the beginning.

Until in 1913, the American zoologist Heller described the East African cheetah skin shot by American businessman and hunter Paul J. Rainey at the Ulu Station of Kapiti Plains in Kenya back in 1911 under the trinomen Acinonyx jubatus raineyi (also spelled raineyii), which was the first scientific name exclusively for the East African cheetah subspecies and more preferable than the previous A. j. fearsoni. The East African specimen was named in honor of Rainey. The specimen is also known as Rainey's cheetah, respectively.

Prior and following Heller's description of a East African cheetah skin from British East Africa presented in the United States National Museum, other naturalists and zoologists also described cheetahs from other parts of East Africa that today are all considered synonyms of A. j. raineyi:

Evolutionary history

Back at early Pleistocene, the earliest African cheetah fossils have been found in the lower beds of the Olduvai Gorge site in northern Tanzania, thus making the Tanzanian cheetah the most ancient subspecies.

Not much was known about the Tanzanian cheetah's evolutionary story, although at first, the Eastern and Southern African cheetahs were thought to be identical as the genetic distance between the two subspecies are low. However, in the 1990s, DNA research revealed the Tanzanian cheetahs and their southern cousins are separate subspecies.

In early 2011, results of phylogeographic genetic analysis on cheetah subspecies revealed more about the distinctiveness and significant differences between cheetah subspecies, revealing the connection between the East African and the South African population. The mitochondrial DNA data shows that the East African subspecies had no common haplotype with the South African cheetahs, although one haplotype consisting cheetah populations from Tanzania and Kenya clustered together with the South African cheetahs. It was suggested that a population in East Africa might be derived from a relatively recent re-colonization events as observed in the African lions. The mtDNA study reveals that the divergence between the two populations occurred between 28,000 and 36,000 years ago.

Physical characteristics

The East African cheetah is the largest subspecies. Cheetahs usually can measure from 110–135 cm (3.61–4.43 ft) in head-and-body length and weighs between 70 and 75 kg (154 and 165 lb). The males are usually larger than females. Measurements on wild cheetahs in Tanzania were taken, and they can measure up to between 200–220 cm (6.6–7.2 ft) in length and weighs between 50 and 60 kg (110 and 130 lb). The largest of the cheetahs were recorded in Kenya. Depth of skull and length of mandible are significantly larger in males.

It is the second-palest subspecies after the very pale Northwest African cheetah. The Tanzanian cheetahs have a white-yellowish coat to a tannish coat. Their fur are usually quite shorter and leaner, however some can have a thick coarse fur on the belly. The East African cheetah has many round black spots, some can be found on the chests and neck, except on its white underside. The spots merge toward the end of the tail to form four to fourteen dark rings followed by a white tuft at the tip of the tail. The Tanzanian cheetah's tear marks run from the corner of the eyes to the mouth which reduces the glare of sunlight in its eyes, which is relatively thick. The Tanzanian cheetah also has a slighter build than other African cheetahs.

There had been reports about some Tanzanian cheetah of other color variations, such as melanism and ticked. A black (melanistic) cheetah was sighted in the Trans-Nzoia District of Kenya in 1925. A ticked (spotless) cheetah was shot in Tanzania in 1921, it had only a few very small spots on the neck and back. Another cheetah with this color-morph was photographed in Kenya in 2012.

Habitat and distribution

The Tanzanian cheetahs are native to the eastern region of Africa. They primarily live on scrub forests, grasslands, savannahs, open fields, steppes and arid environments where preys are available, in which are suitable to be the cheetahs' main hunting grounds. A few can also be found at lakeshores and coastal areas, including mountain ranges. The Tanzanian cheetahs of Amboseli National Park also live in arid deserts of Nyiri.

The Tanzanian cheetah's range has the highest density mostly in between northern Tanzania and southern Kenya. The largest populations are mostly found at the Serengeti National Park, the Masai Mara National Reserve, Kora National Park and the Ngorongoro Crater from Tanzania and Kenya, as there were between 569 and 1,007 cheetahs in Tanzania and between 710 and 793 individuals in Kenya. However, in 2015, it is estimated that between 800 and 1,200 adult East African cheetahs reside in Kenya, making the country the main stronghold for the vulnerable species in East Africa.

There are rare sightings of East African cheetahs at the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and in the Katavi National Park from southwest Tanzania. Certain populations of cheetahs in southern Tanzania are unlikely to be the Eastern subspecies, as the southernmost populations found at the southern region of the country are actually South African cheetahs.

The Tanzanian cheetah populations were estimated as around 40 to 295 cheetahs in Uganda as of 2007. Cheetahs are found in Kidepo Valley National Park in northern Uganda. It is estimated that only 20 individuals live in Kidepo since 2014. Some also have recently been spotted in Murchison Falls National Park. The cheetahs, along with lions, are rarely spotted in Murchison Falls.

In 2007, there are 200 Tanzanian cheetahs in Somalia. They may probably persist in the southernmost parts of Ethiopia, sharing borders with the Sudan cheetahs. Though their subpopulations are fragmented in the regions.

Former ranges

The Tanzanian cheetahs have lost most of their historical ranges in the countries they persist and in which are no longer found. The East African cheetah formerly lived in the eastern parts of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (in the North Kivu and South Kivu provinces). The cheetahs previously lived in Virunga National Park. The subspecies might even shared borders with the Sudan cheetah on northeastern regions and the South African cheetah on southeastern regions of the Congo. They are also regionally extinct from Rwanda and Burundi.

Reproduction and life cycle

Male cheetahs are sociable and often live in a group of other males called coalitions. In the Serengeti, it was found that 41% of the adult males were solitary, 40% lived in pairs and 19% lived in trios. Male East African cheetahs are also territorial establish their territories by marking their territories by urinating on trees or logs. They would react aggressively against intruders.

The female Tanzanian cheetah's home ranges can be very large and a territory including several females' ranges is impossible to defend. Instead, males choose the points at which several of the females' home ranges overlap, creating a much smaller space, which can be properly defended against intruders while maximizing the chance of reproduction. Coalitions will try their best to maintain territories to find females with whom they will mate. The size of the territory also depends on the available resources; depending on the habitat, the size of a male's territory can vary greatly from 37 to 160 km² (14 to 62 sq mi).

Female cheetahs can reproduce at 13 to 16 months of age with an average age of sexual maturity between 21 and 22 months. Cheetah cub births mostly occurs during January to August in East Africa after 90 to 95 days of gestation.

Hunting and diet

Tanzanian cheetahs are diurnal animals (active mainly during the day), whereas the stronger apex predators, such as hyenas, leopards and lions are nocturnal (active mainly at night). Hunting is the major activity throughout the day; peaks are observed during dawn and dusk indicating crepuscular tendencies. Groups rest in grassy clearings after dusk, though males and juveniles often roam around at night.

In Kenya, Tanzanian cheetahs of the Masai Mara hunt after sunset to escape the high temperatures of the day. In the Serengeti, they hunt when the lions and hyenas are inactive. A study in Nairobi National Park showed that the success of Tanzanian cheetah hunt depends on the species, age, sex, and habitat of the prey, and the size of the hunting herd or the efficiency of the hunting individual.

The Tanzanian cheetah usually eats medium-sized or large mammalian herbivores, such as antelopes. It preys on impala, Grant's gazelle, gerenuk, wildebeest, waterbuck, hare and guineafowl. It even feeds on other large mammals, such as plains zebras and ostriches on few occasions. However, its favorite prey is the Thomson's gazelle. The gazelle is found mostly in savannas, grasslands and open fields of the Serengeti ecosystem of Tanzania and the Masai Mara ecosystem of Kenya where the cheetah can chase and catch its prey at full speed.

In Somalia, Tanzanian cheetahs feed on Soemmerring's gazelles. Historically, Speke's gazelles fell prey to the cheetahs, which were formerly the main prey of the Tanzanian cheetahs in semi-deserts and grass steppes of the Horn of Africa. However, it suffers from population decline and habitat degradation.

The East African cheetah hunts at daylight, often during early morning or in the evening. It usually stalks to within a few feet, then chases the animal down at high speed. The cheetah will make its prey trip and fall during the chase, then bites the underside of the throat to suffocate and kill it. It prefers to eat its food quickly to avoid losing it to stronger predators such as lions, leopards and hyenas.

Enemies and competitors

Tanzanian cheetahs are threatened and outranked by larger predators in their area, as they are known to be unable to defend themselves against these predators. In the Serengeti ecosystem, they are highly threatened by lions, as they can kill cheetahs, cause high-rate cheetah cub mortality, also steal their food.

Other predators such as African leopards, East African wild dogs and hyenas also threaten the cheetahs. Spotted and striped hyenas frequently scavenges from the cheetah kills, and the cheetahs would surrender their meals to the incoming hyenas without a fight.

However, coalitions of male adult cheetahs can chase predators away. Even a single cheetah are also known to chase jackals and African golden wolves away from their territory or their food.

Threat

Like all subspecies, the Tanzanian cheetah population is threatened by poaching, habitat loss, fragmentation, predator relationships with lions, leopards, hyenas and painted dogs.

The East African cheetah is also known to have the highest mortality rate of the cheetah cubs. The rate of cheetah cubs' mortality mostly goes up to from 50% to 75% before the age of 3 months, however, the rate of cub mortality varies up to 90% in the Serengeti ecosystem (except in the Maasai Mara ecosystem). It is suspected that the Masai lions are the sources of high mortality of cheetah cubs. In Tanzania's Serengeti ecosystem and in Kenya's Maasai Mara, the East African cheetah mothers would even hide their cubs in tall grass or brush for four or six weeks to keep them safe, as there are high densities of apex predators within the region and the cheetahs native to the Serengeti ecosystem avoid being out of the open.

The Tanzanian cheetahs, mostly from the Serengeti and the Maasai Mara can be affected by infectious disease, although it does not represent a major threat to the free-roaming cheetahs of East Africa.

Conservation

The Tanzanian cheetah, including the South African cheetah and Sudan cheetah are listed as Vulnerable in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals. The cheetah species is listed on Appendix I of CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species), Appendix I of CMS (Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals) and is protected under national legislation throughout most of its extant and some of its former range.

Despite the numerous reserves and national parks for the East African cheetah, the population still is in decline. There are various conservation projects in order to save the Tanzanian cheetah from extinction, such as the Mara-Meru Cheetah Project, the Serengeti Cheetah Project, Action for Cheetahs in Kenya and the Tanzania Cheetah Conservation Programme.

There are currently no known East African cheetahs in captivity. However, in Whipsnade Zoo features displays that inform visitors about ZSL's cheetah conservation project in Tanzania. Despite the conservation project is involved on East Africa, the captive cheetahs of the zoo are actually Sudan cheetahs from Northeastern Africa.

East African cheetahs in India

The Indian cheetahs were once widespread throughout the Indian Subcontinent. Before the cheetahs were very rare throughout the country, the Indian cheetahs were more commonly found in the shrub forests of northern Gujarat and neighboring areas surrounding the Gir Forest in Saurashtra region. At the time of the 1910s, the Indian cheetahs became a very rare species, and the Maharaja of the Baroda State Sayajirao Gaekwad III sought for the cheetahs from Africa. At the beginning of World War I, the Maharaja Bhavsinhji II of the Bhavnagar State sent his representatives to Kenya (known as British East Africa at the time) to import about thirty-two East African cheetahs, which the African breed were noted to be bigger and stronger than that of India's. He domesticated them and trained them for coursing, a sports of cheetahs hunting herbivorous animals such as blackbucks in India. He sold them to other Indian princes for about 200 to 250 pounds for each animal.

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