Samenvatting

The global population of cheetahs is declining, which is a threat to the health of their ecosystems and biodiversity. Cheetahs are listed as ‘Vulnerable’ on the IUCN Red List, but some conservation scientists want them to be up listed from to ‘Endangered’. The decline in cheetah populations is a result of several causes. One of them is their high offspring mortality. The aim was to identify the main causes of why so many cheetah cubs die before emergence, to see how conservationists could make sure that cheetah cubs survive until emergence, so they have more chance of surviving until their adolescence. This protection would be needed to contribute to the reduction of the decline in cheetah populations, what would also help with increasing biodiversity. The main question is: ‘Why do cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) have a high offspring mortality rate before emergence from the lair?’