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The diploid number of chromosomes in the cheetah is 38, the same as in most other felids (though for the ocelot and the margay the number is 36).[15] A remarkable feature of the cheetah is its unusually low genetic variability in comparison to other felids. Consequently, individuals show considerable genetic similarity to one another,[41][42][43] as illustrated by skin grafts, electrophoretic evidence and reproductive surveys.[44] A prolonged period of inbreeding, following a genetic bottleneck during the last ice age, is believed to be the reason behind this anomaly.[45] The consequences of such genetic uniformity might include a low sperm count, decreased sperm motility, deformed flagella, difficulty in captive breeding and susceptibility to disease.[2][44]
King cheetah
The king cheetah is a variety of cheetah with a rare mutation for cream-coloured fur marked with large, blotchy spots and three dark, wide stripes extending from their neck to the tail.[46] In 1926 Major A. Cooper wrote about an animal he had shot near modern-day Harare. Describing the animal, he noted its remarkable similarity to the cheetah, but the body of this individual was covered with fur as thick as that of a snow leopard and the spots merged to form stripes. He suggested that it could be a cross between a leopard and a cheetah. After further similar animals were discovered, it was established they were similar to the cheetah in having non-retractable claws – a characteristic feature of the cheetah.[47][48]
English zoologist Reginald Innes Pocock described it as a new species by the name of Acinonyx rex (“rex” being Latin for “king”, the name translated to “king cheetah”);[48] However, he reverted from this in 1939. English hunter-naturalist Abel Chapman considered it to be a colour morph of the spotted cheetah.[10][49] Since 1927 the king cheetah has been reported five more times in the wild; an individual was photographed in 1975.[50]
In May 1981 two spotted sisters gave birth at the De Wildt Cheetah and Wildlife Centre (South Africa), and each litter contained one king cheetah. Each sister had mated with a wild male from the Transvaal region (where king cheetahs had been recorded). Further king cheetahs were later born at the Centre. They have been known to exist in Zimbabwe, Botswana and northern Transvaal. In 2012 the cause of this alternative coat pattern was found to be a mutation in the gene for transmembrane aminopeptidase Q (Taqpep), the same gene responsible for the striped “mackerel” versus blotchy “classic” patterning seen in tabby cats.[51] Hence, genetically the king cheetah is simply a variety of the common cheetah and not a separate species. This case is similar to that of the black panthers.[46] The mutation is recessive, a reason behind the rareness of the mutation. As a result, if two mating cheetahs have the same gene, then a quarter of their offspring can be expected to be king cheetahs.
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