International Cheetah Day is celebrated on December 4th. December 4th was chosen because it was the birthday of Khayam, one of the first cheetahs that Dr. Laurie marker raised from cub while she was at the Wildlife Safari in Oregon, United States (CCF Conservation Passport, N.D.). Khayam was part of the first research project in rewilding cheetahs and inspired Dr. marker to go on her first trip to Namibia in 1977 (CCF Conservation Passport, N.D.).
The Cheetah Sustainability Program (CSP) is a program to help grow the cheetah population to ensure the survival of the cheetah while providing conservation progress in the wild (CCSS Cheetah, 2020). CSP was created in 2014 in collaboration with the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) Cheetah Species Survival Program (Cheetah SSP) (CCSS Cheetah, 2020). Since this program has been in place the cheetah population, in captivity, has grown more than 80% (CCSS Cheetah, 2020). There are ten cheetah breeding centers who work together to provide leadership, scientific management, capacity building, and financial support while ensuring cheetah sustainability (CCSS Cheetah, 2020).
The ten breeding centers are:
5. Saint Louis Zoo 10. Wildlife Safari
The year 2020 has been filled with unknowns, however some exciting news occurred. Scientists at both the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI) and the Columbus Zoo transferred cheetah embryos and produced in vitro fertilization (IVF) to a surrogate cheetah (CBI First Cheetah Cubs, 2020). The IVF held and two cubs were born on February 19th (CBI First Cheetah Cubs, 2020)! Heaving this success will help scientists and zoos build healthy genetics as an insurance population for cheetahs in human care (CBI First Cheetah Cubs, 2020). The semen, which they froze, came from a male cheetah at Fossil Rim Wildlife Center in Texas in February 2019 (CBI First Cheetah Cubs, 2020). The eggs came from a female cheetah at the Columbus Zoo in November 2019 (CBI First Cheetah Cubs, 2020). The semen and eggs were fertilized and transferred to the surrogate cheetah mom, Izzy, on November 21, 2019 (CBI First Cheetah Cubs, 2020). This was the third time scientists have ever attempted in vitro fertilization with cheetahs (CBI First Cheetah Cubs, 2020). Scientists at SCBI have been studying IVF and embryo transfer in cheetahs for 15 years (CBI First Cheetah Cubs, 2020).
This success story is even more of a reason to celebrate International Cheetah Day and support organizations apart of the cheetah breeding center program, which helps cheetahs both in zoos and in the wild.
The Cheetah Conservation Fund created an International Cheetah Day Conservation Passport activity book, which is great for kids! It has a crossword puzzle, a cheetah face mask, information and steps you can take to help cheetahs.
You can color your own cheetah, and make sure you share it on social media and tag @CCFCheetah and use hashtags #SaveTheCheetah and #IntlCheetahDay
The World Wildlife Fund has the option for you to symbolically adopt a cheetah.
Make sure you celebrate International Cheetah Day every December 4th!
Literature Cited
Cheetah Conservation Fund (2019). [Dr. Laurie Marker with a cheetah] [Photograph].
Cheetah Conservation Fund. (N.D.). International cheetah day: Conservation passport. https://internationalcheetahday.com/wp-content/uploads/ConservationPassportUpdatedStudentVersionWhiteCover.compressed-1.pdf
Conservation Centers for Species Survival. (2020). Cheetah: The fastest land mammal. https://conservationcenters.org/programs/sustainability-programs/cheetah/
Smithsonian’s National Zoo. (2020, February 25). Cheetah embryo transfer [Video}. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfdEqLdobGQ&feature=emb_logo
Smithsonian National Zoo. (2020, February 24). First cheetah cubs born as result of embryo transfer. https://nationalzoo.si.edu/news/first-cheetah-cubs-born-result-embryo-transfer
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