The most slender cat

1987/12/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Zoologia

To say that the cheetah is the most slender cat does not seem like barbarity. Unfortunately its beauty can be a memory in a few years. Like many African wild animals, the number of gerpards has declined in recent years.

The causes of this fact are well known: the reduction of their habitat, overfarming, deforestation, population increase, furtivism and the discomfort caused by photographic safaris.

This animal does not make many children and it is also very surprising to have children in captivity. As a result, the Gepards have gone from 14000 in 1970 to 3000 today.

Important efforts are being made to ensure the stability of gepardo populations. Among them is artificial insemination. Fertilized cheetah eggs in a method just tested are placed in female cats and children leave through the cesarean section during childbirth. These techniques are expected to help.