Many thousands of years ago, more than one species of cheetah roamed the earth. about 10,000 years ago, however, climate changes led to the extinction of all but one species - acinonyx jubatus. this rapid extinction led to extensive inbreeding within this species' population. acinonyx jubatus is still alive today, but its population is rapidly decreasing. one factor that is linked to the cheetah's population decline is its lack of genetic diversity, which was caused by the extensive inbreeding 10,000 years ago. in fact, on average, two individual cheetahs will share over 99% of their genetic material. the lack of genetic variation among individuals of the species acinonyx jubatus is most likely linked to its sharp decline in population because this causes the species