In a study compiled by the National Museums of Kenya (NMK) and Kenya Wildlife Service, scientists found that one of world’s fastest land animals, the cheetah, is losing its reproductive abilities due to climate change.

Higher temperatures are causing abnormalities in the animal’s sperm. NMK mammology chief, Risky Agwanda, told the Guardian: “Climate change has contributed to defects of the cheetah sperm. Many have abnormal coils, low sperm counts, as well as extremely low testosterone levels.”

Climate change has not only affected the cat population but also gazelles, which are the cheetahs main food source. The dwindling number of gazelles has forced cheetahs to look for other prey, which adds to the problem.

“Cheetahs love to prey on Thomson’s gazelles, they have a very high protein content compared to other herbivores and the population has been on a rapid decline due to poor climate conditions and human activities,” Agwanda said.

“We have studied a large number of the cheetahs. As a result, it preys on other herbivores such as the zebra which do not have a high nutritional content. We discovered that the gazelle diet can actually help maintain the good health of the cheetah sperm if the animal has not yet been negatively affected by poor climate.”

Cheetahs are more vulnerable to endangerment as their genes are weaker compared to other big cats who have seen no reproductive reduction due to warmer weathers.

According to the Kenya Wildlife Service, the population in Kenya now stands at 1,000 cheetahs as opposed to 5,000 roughly 30 years ago.