These dire numbers have earned the species a spot on the Endangered Species Act list and a Vulnerable status on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List. It’s estimated that more than 100,000 cheetahs roamed Earth in 1900, but now that number has plummeted to fewer than 7000 mature cheetahs in Africa and Iran. Combined with a loss of habitat to humans and stiff competition with even bigger big cats for dwindling food supplies, cheetah numbers have been decreasing for about a century. With an estimated 90 percent of cheetah cubs dying before they’re 3 months old, the cheetah population struggles to be self-sustaining. The shrunken gene pool means that, even now, cheetahs have abnormally low fertility and are prone to birth defects that makes conservation efforts particularly crucial. Scientists deduced that the onset of the last ice age had decimated the cheetah population, leaving the few remaining animals to interbreed. Almost the entire genetic makeup of any one cheetah mirrored the genetic makeup of every other cheetah. In the 1980s, researchers made a startling discovery about cheetahs, who were known to be difficult to breed and prone to illness in zoos: they were all virtually clones of one another.

A population bottleneck about 12,000 years ago shrank the cheetah gene pool. Even if that wasn’t the case, after around 30 seconds of that type of exertion, a cheetah’s brain will begin to overheat. And the energy surges that give them their speed give off lactic acid that leaves the cheetah with painful cramps after just 30 seconds at top speed. Their oversized respiratory tract and nasal passages take up too much room in the cheetah's skull for their jaw to accommodate large teeth. The cheetah’s fused leg bones make them far less proficient climbers than other big cats. Being built for speed comes with a downside for cheetahs. And fused tibia and fibula bones in the cheetah’s legs make them more stable when sprinting after prey. Without claw sheaths, their claws stick out even when retracted-providing cleat-like grip to the bottom of their feet. A comparatively long, heavy tail provides a counterbalance for tight turns at top speeds. They have enlarged adrenal glands, lungs, nasal passages, and hearts to accommodate extra oxygen to fuel their muscles. It takes a lot of distinct biology to be able to accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in under three seconds: Cheetahs have extra-large livers to better mobilize the glycogen molecules that provide quick bursts of energy.

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