An effort is also being made to recreate the cheetah's living conditions in the wild, including offering them more privacy. The San Diego cheetah mom gave birth to her cubs at a special breeding center just for cheetahs, about a mile from the zoo, away from public view. Male and female cheetahs must be kept apart except for a few days in order to breed successfully According to Millard-Davis, since females live alone in the wild, another key to breeding success is keeping males and females separated in captivity. Researchers must bring them together once a year during the ideal breeding period, which can range from one to four days. Pinpointing those days is not easy.
Biologists look for changes in behavior.
A male cheetah might make a particular sound. A female might poke her head out of an enclosure. Researchers in San Diego will let a male loose in a in a female's empty pen. Females excrete estrogen in their fecal matter. So by smelling that, the male know if she's in heat or coming into heat.