Draft for Institutional Representative Review – Please Respond by 3 March 2017 Population Analysis & Breeding and Transfer Plan Cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) AZA Species Survival Plan® Yellow Program AZA Species Survival Plan® Coordinator Adrienne Crosier, PhD, Smithsonian’s Conservation Biology Institute – Center for Species Survival, (
[email protected]) & AZA Studbook Keeper Erin Moloney, Busch Gardens, (
[email protected]) AZA Population Advisor John Andrews, Population Management Center (
[email protected]) 1 February 2017 Draft for Institutional Representative Review – Please Respond by 3 March 2017 Executive Summary 2017 Species Survival Plan® for the Cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) The Cheetah SSP population currently consists of 315 cats (151 males, 164 females) at 59 facilities (55 AZA, 4 non- AZA) as of 18 January 2017. Currently, there are thirteen cheetahs (9.4) held at non-AZA facilities. The target population size set by the Felid Taxon Advisory Group is 300 in the 2009 Regional Collection Plan. The population currently qualifies as a Yellow SSP Program. Current gene diversity for the managed population is 97.27% and is equivalent to the genetic diversity of a population descended from approximately 18 founders (FGE = 18.34). The standard genetic goal for AZA managed populations is to maintain 90% gene diversity for 100 years. When gene diversity falls below 90% (and average inbreeding increases), it is expected that reproduction will be increasingly compromised by, among other factors, lower birth weights, smaller litter sizes, and greater neonatal mortality. Under potential conditions, with a growth rate of 0% (lambda = 1.00), gene diversity can be maintained at or above 90% gene diversity for at least 50 years.