Page "Cheetah" Paragraph 73

Cheetah cubs have a high mortality rate due to predation by other carnivores, such as the lion and hyena, and perhaps genetic factors.

It has been suggested that the low genetic diversity of cheetahs is a cause of poor sperm, birth defects, cramped teeth, curled tails, and bent limbs.

Some biologists even believe that they are too inbred to flourish as a species.

Note, however, that they lost most of their genetic diversity thousands of years ago ( see the beginning of this article ), and yet seem to have only been in decline in the last century or so, suggesting factors other than genetics are mainly responsible.