Research: Thermoregulation of free-living cheetah

A collaborative study by the AfriCat Foundation, Namibia and the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa.



To date, no one has investigated how wild cheetah regulate their body temperature or how they deal with the extreme heat loads to which they are exposed. Hence the purpose of this study is to establish:
•How cheetahs deal with environmental
thermal stress
•Whether the duration of a cheetah’s sprint is
thermally limited.

Six cheetahs (Mo, Dewey and a group of four siblings- Artemis, Athena, Apollo and Zeus) underwent surgery in September 2005. A temperature-sensitive data logger (measures and records body temperature) was placed in their abdominal cavity. Whilst a movement-sensitive data logger (records activity) was placed on their outer thigh, just beneath the skin. Each cheetah was also radio-collared, to allow for behavioural observations and to monitor their movements and health.


Radio-collar

Temperature-sensitive logger
Movement-sensitive logger

The cheetah were then released into the 10 000-acre Tusk Trust Rehabilitation Area,where they will remain for 6 months. In May 2006 the data loggers will be removed and their data retrieved.

A weatherstation will measure the environmental conditions that the cheetah are exposed to. Variables such as air temperature radiation, wind direction and velocity, and rainfall will be taken into account.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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