Regional variation in the cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) revisited: morphology of wild and captive populations

The cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) is listed as a vulnerable species by the
IUCN, including two critically endangered subspecies, the Saharan cheetah,
and the Iranian cheetah, so it is imperative that we understand variation
in cheetah morphology to make good decisions regarding the conservation of
this species. Here, we aim to determine whether northeastern African
cheetahs have smaller body sizes than southern African cheetahs. This
study also adds to our knowledge of cheetah morphology from two cheetah
populations that do not yet have comprehensive published data: Kenya, and
northeastern Africa, including captive individuals. We calculated means
and standard deviations on cranial and body measurements of live or in few
cases, freshly dead, cheetahs from the aforementioned populations, plus
previously published data on Namibian and Botswanan cheetahs and compared
them to one another using multivariate analysis of variance. Results show
that northeastern African cheetahs have smaller body sizes than southern
and eastern African populations. We also found that captive cheetahs
retain the morphological characteristics of their ancestral population-
captive cheetahs from southern Africa have similar body sizes to wild
southern African cheetahs and larger body sizes than captives from
northeastern Africa. Other analyses regarding cheetah growth agree with
previous studies on Namibian and Botswanan cheetah populations rates. As
such, this study can serve as a baseline for the care of captive cheetah
populations to maintain healthy weights and body proportions.