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gorgonopsidkid t1_je7suzk wrote

The Asiatic cheetah, the animal that originally existed in the area, is still locally extinct. They still exist, mostly in Iran. These are African cheetahs. Take this how you will, I personally see it as introduction of an invasive species.

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thethpunjabi OP t1_je7y7xs wrote

They’re all the same species, Acinonyx jubatus. Just different subspecies (Acinonyx jubatus jubatus and Acinonyx jubatus venaticus) and genetic studies show a separation of only 32,000 and 67,000 years between the Asiatic subspecies and African subspecies.

Citation: Charruau, P.; Fernandes, C.; Orozco-Terwengel, P.; Peters, J.; Hunter, L.; Ziaie, H.; Jourabchian, A.; Jowkar, H.; Schaller, G. & Ostrowski, S. (2011). "Phylogeography, genetic structure and population divergence time of cheetahs in Africa and Asia: evidence for long-term geographic isolates". Molecular Ecology. 20 (4): 706–724. doi:10.1111/j.1365-294X.2010.04986.x. PMC 3531615. PMID 21214655.

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-Orcrist t1_je8mc8h wrote

I'm sure the wildlife department knows a bit more than the average redditor.

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