Old and new could save big cat

A research project which could help save the cheetah and other endangered species will link the latest technological developments with the ancient tracking skills of Namibian hunter-gatherers.

Scientists at Heriot-watt University in Edinburgh want to determine whether a new Footprint Identification Technique (FIT) can be adapted to discover if individual cheetahs are related.

The technique could give wildlife conservationists a cheaper, quicker and noninvasive monitoring technique that will have applications across all endangered species.

Cheetahs in the wild are classed as “vulnerable”, with around 7,000 now estimated to exist from a figure of 100,000 at the start of the last century.

Larissa Slaney, life scientist and wildlife conservationist at Heriot-watt said: “The San bushmen are renowned for their incredible tracking skills and can read a footprint like a book.

“If we can preserve that knowledge in the form of the cutting-edge FIT technology, it will offer invaluable support in the conservation of these amazing, vulnerable animals and hopefully other endangered species too.”

The project will concentrate on addressing the cheetah’s poor genetic variation, which is often overlooked in conservation projects that focus on habitat loss, humanwildlife conflict and the pet trade.