Saving the Cheetah: How a Genetic Sperm Bank Could Prevent Extinction of Earth's Fastest Land Animal

Dec 04, 2025 02:28 pm CST

The Cheetah Conservation Fund in Namibia maintains a genetic "frozen zoo" containing sperm samples from nearly 400 cheetahs as a last resort against extinction. With wild cheetah populations having declined by 80% in the past 50 years, zoologist Laurie Marker's 35-year preservation project represents a crucial safeguard for the species' survival should natural reproduction become impossible.