The Mystery of the Dying Cheetahs

[Karl]

By Mico Tatalovic - 12 May 2008

Although famously speedy, cheetahs can't seem to outrun a deadly disease called amyloid A (AA) amyloidosis. The illness kills up to 70% of the cats in captivity and has frustrated breeding efforts. In a new study, researchers provide the first compelling evidence that may explain how the disease is transmitted. AA amyloidosis resembles mad cow disease. Like mad cow disease, a misfolded version of a protein--in this case amyloid A--converts normal proteins into abnormal ones, a process that snowballs into large deposits of damaging protein in tissues such as the spleen and liver. (The mad cow protein does most of its damage in the brain and central nervous system.) Animals often die of kidney failure, and the incidence of AA amyloidosis has spiked from 20% to 70% of captive cheetahs since the 1980s.

Based on their finding, the researchers suggest that zoos or captive-breeding colonies can limit the spread of AA amyloidosis by removing feces as soon as possible or by keeping the animals' food separated from areas that have come into contact with feces. "These results provide possible measures for rescuing cheetahs from extinction," says Keiichi Higuchi, biologist at Shinshu University in Matsumoto, Japan. There are only about 12,500 cheetahs alive on the planet today, he notes, so any cheetah death is a blow to the species' chance of survival.

Sarah Durant, a conservation biologist at the Zoological Society of London and the U.S.–based Wildlife Conservation Society, says limiting the spread of AA amyloidosis among captive animals is a good strategy. Although the disease is unlikely to affect free-roaming cheetahs, she says that conquering it in captivity could raise awareness of the plight of wild cheetahs.

Full Article: The Mystery of the Dying Cheetahs -- Tatalovic 2008 (512): 2 -- ScienceNOW
Related Site: Cheetah Conservation Fund