In March 2005, Dr. Laurie Marker spent a week in the Ahaggar Mountains in Algeria with several other biologists from the Sahal Saharan Interest Group (SSIG) looking for signs of cheetah and desert gazelle. The international survey team comprised Algerian representatives from the Algerian Ministry of Culture and the Office du Parc National de l'Ahaggar (OPNA), Université Abderrahmane Mira de Béjaïa (UB), and Agence Nationale pour la Conservation de la Nature (ANN), with SSIG members from Nature Division, Ministry of the Flemish Community (Belgium), Zoological Society of London (ZSL, United Kingdom) and Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF, Namibia).

The SSIG has just released a new report of molecular genetics studies carried out on 48 carnivore faeces collected in Aghaddar during the March 2005 expedition, that demonstrate the presence of cheetah and leopard in the area. In addition to eight cheetah DNAs, other intriguing findings include some species not thought to prevail in Ahaggar, such as leopard (thought to be extinct), mongoose, genet, and an unidentified canid (not assigned to jackals, Rüppell's or Fennec foxes). The report can be downloaded on PDF format by clicking here.

ABSTRACT: The status of the cheetah, Acinonyx jubatus, in Northern Africa is poorly known. Study of this species has concentrated on the two major populations of the Serengeti in Tanzania and in Namibia. A lack of detailed baseline data has led to an increasingly detached and unsure view of the present status of this animal in its most northern reaches of Africa. This paper represents the first steps to use multiple techniques to confirm the presence of cheetahs in Algeria and to show the power and importance of the genetics.

A joint 2005 expedition to the Ahaggar region of the Algerian Sahara collected over 40 putative carnivore scat samples for further analysis. The first major objective of this analysis was to assign species identity to the scat. This was done through genetic analyses of the samples. Among other carnivores, eight cheetahs and a leopard were found. This is the first time leopards have been recorded in this part of Algeria. Thus, this paper has an ancillary purpose in presenting a new way of using non-invasive molecular ecological techniques to compile a species list in remote areas where resources only allow for short reconnaissance studies.

Having identified the species present, the second objective of this study was to analyse the genetic structure of the cheetah samples through microsatellite studies. Cheetah from Tanzania were used as reference samples and combined in the analysis with the Algerian cheetahs, and the number of unique genotypes and possible kinship relationships were ascertained. The cheetah samples were then geo-referenced on a map containing information gathered on the 2005 expedition.

This paper, therefore, demonstrates the existence of cheetahs and leopards in Algeria and provides impetus for future work in this remote region.

Busby, G.B.J., D. Gottelli, S. Durant, T. Wacher, L. Marker, F. Belbachir, K. De Smet, A.Belbachir-Bazi, A. Fellous & M. Belghoul. 2006. A Report from the Sahelo Saharan Interest Group - Office du Parc National de l'Ahaggar Survey, Algeria (March 2005) - Part 5: Using Molecular Genetics to study the Presence of Endangered Carnivores (November 2006). Unpublished Report. vi + 19 pp.