For cheetah read cheater in call of the wild | Tech&Sci | Science | Reuters.com

For cheetah read cheater in call of the wild | Tech&Sci | Science | Reuters.com:

"LONDON (Reuters) - For female cheetahs in the Serengeti, the call of the wild is just too hard to resist as new research shows nearly half of their litters are made up of cubs with different fathers.

And while the serial infidelities of the females does ensure a broader genetic mix to help the survival of the endangered species, it comes at a cost, the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) said on Wednesday.

'Mating with more than one male poses a serious threat to females, increasing the risk of exposure to parasites and diseases,' said Dada Gottelli, ZSL's lead scientist for the research."

Not to mention that with territorial predators, dates are few and far between.... And apparently the female is the one who does the walking, not the male.