--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Cheetah genes cooperate with cheetah…" description: "\"Cheetah genes cooperate with cheetah genes but not with camel genes, and vice versa. This is not because cheetah genes, even in the most poetic sense, ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f1/richard-dawkins-115_camels_cheetah-genes-cooperate-with-cheetah-gen_1266320.jpg" --- # Cheetah genes cooperate with cheetah genes but not with… ![“Cheetah genes cooperate with cheetah genes but not with camel genes, and vice versa. This is not because cheetah genes, even in the most poetic sense, see any virtue in the preservation of the cheetah species. They are not working to save the cheetah from extinction like some molecular World…” quote by Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f1/richard-dawkins-115_camels_cheetah-genes-cooperate-with-cheetah-gen_1266320.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f1/richard-dawkins-115_camels_cheetah-genes-cooperate-with-cheetah-gen_1266320.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f1/richard-dawkins-115_camels_cheetah-genes-cooperate-with-cheetah-gen_1266320.jpg) > “Cheetah genes cooperate with cheetah genes but not with camel genes, and vice versa. This is not because cheetah genes, even in the most poetic sense, see any virtue in the preservation of the cheetah species. They are not working to save the cheetah from extinction like some molecular World Wildlife Fund.” [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Genes act in self‑interest, cooperating with similar genes and competing with dissimilar ones, without moral intent to preserve a species. **In simple terms:** Genes cooperate with similar genes, not to save species. Key Takeaway Recognize gene-level competition, not altruistic species preservation. Themes evolution genetics self‑interest Mood analytical thoughtful critical Type scientific educational philosophical When to use this quote - conservation policy - wildlife management - genetic research - educational curricula Key Concepts inclusive fitness gene competition Questions to Reflect On - How does gene-level selfishness affect ecosystem health? - Can we align conservation with gene interests? A Different Perspective The metaphor may oversimplify complex ecological interactions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Camels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/camels/) [Cheetahs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cheetahs/) [Extinction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/extinction/) [Poetic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetic/) [Preservation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/preservation/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Vices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vices/) [Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtue/) [Wildlife](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wildlife/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [“Selection has favoured genes that cooperate with others. In the fierce competition for scarce resources, in the relentless struggle to eat other survival machines,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/selection-has-favoured-genes-that-cooperate-with-others-in-the-fierce/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [I think we have got to start again and go right back to first principles. The argument I shall advance, surprising as it may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/i-think-we-have-got-to-start-again-and-go-right-back-to-first/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [These magnificent species of Africa - elephants, rhino, lions, leopards, cheetah, the great apes (Africa has four of the world's five great apes) -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-bergin/these-magnificent-species-of-africa-elephants-rhino-lions-leopards/) [Patrick Bergin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-bergin/) > [Take, for example, the African jungle, the home of the cheetah. On whom does the cheetah prey? The old, the sick, the wounded, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-gordon-liddy/take-for-example-the-african-jungle-the-home-of-the-cheetah-on-whom/) [G. Gordon Liddy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-gordon-liddy/) > [The more I think about it, the more there is to be said for the sloth. 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And they laugh & eat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohammed-bhat/i-bet-when-cheetahs-race-and-one-of-them-cheats-the-other-one-goes/) [Mohammed Bhat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohammed-bhat/) > [In the year 2007, seals, otters, lions, turtles, frogs, apes, snakes, butterflies, polar bears, cheetahs, whales are disappearing along with their variously furnished homes:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eban-goodstein/in-the-year-2007-seals-otters-lions-turtles-frogs-apes-snakes/) [Eban Goodstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eban-goodstein/) > [Filming in India was one big adventure. For 'The Cheetah Girls', we were in Mumbai for two weeks, then Rajasthan for six weeks. Every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-steger/filming-in-india-was-one-big-adventure-for-the-cheetah-girls-we-were/) [Michael Steger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-steger/) > [I'm a street walking cheetah with a heart full of napalm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iggy-pop/i-m-a-street-walking-cheetah-with-a-heart-full-of-napalm/) [Iggy Pop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iggy-pop/) > [I ran like a cheetah - well, like a cheetah that smoked too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-ran-like-a-cheetah-well-like-a-cheetah-that-smoked-too-much/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Every culture from the Egyptians to the Mayans to the American Indians to the Bedouins created bestiaries that enabled them to express their relationship…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-colbert/every-culture-from-the-egyptians-to-the-mayans-to-the-american/) [Gregory Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-colbert/) > [There are some girls who are turned on by my body, and some others who are turned off. but for the majority i just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-schwarzenegger/there-are-some-girls-who-are-turned-on-by-my-body-and-some-others-who/) [Arnold Schwarzenegger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-schwarzenegger/) > [I used to always say, 'Cheetahs don't stretch.' And I look at myself as a cheetah.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desean-jackson/i-used-to-always-say-cheetahs-don-t-stretch-and-i-look-at-myself-as-a/) [DeSean Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desean-jackson/) ## More by Richard Dawkins > [At the deepest level, all living things that have ever been looked at have the same DNA code. And many of the same genes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/at-the-deepest-level-all-living-things-that-have-ever-been-looked-at/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [The word 'mundane' has come to mean 'boring' and 'dull', and it really shouldn't - it should mean the opposite. 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And of all its money-making rip-offs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/the-roman-catholic-church-is-an-institution-for-whose-gains-the/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [Let us understand what our own selfish genes are up to because we may then at least have the chance to upset their designs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/let-us-understand-what-our-own-selfish-genes-are-up-to-because-we-may/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [What's going to happen when I die? I may be buried, or I may be cremated, I may give my body to science. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/what-s-going-to-happen-when-i-die-i-may-be-buried-or-i-may-be/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [Or why it is acceptable to train fast runners and high jumpers but not to breed them. 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If in the future that requires violence”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/we-will-not-go-quietly-away-if-in-the-future-that-requires-violence/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [It's a truly disgusting idea that the creator of the universe - capable of inventing the laws of physics and designing the evolutionary process…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/it-s-a-truly-disgusting-idea-that-the-creator-of-the-universe-capable/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) [Explore all 1,239 Richard Dawkins quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) ## More Camels quotes > [In cities it is useless to look at the stars or to describe them, worship them, or seek direction from them. When lost, one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rawi-hage/in-cities-it-is-useless-to-look-at-the-stars-or-to-describe-them/) [Rawi Hage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rawi-hage/) > [Expediency is a law of nature. The camel is a wonderful animal, but the desert made the camel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/expediency-is-a-law-of-nature-the-camel-is-a-wonderful-animal-but-the/) [Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/) > [Astride a horse I am not, nor camel-like carry a load, Subjects I have none, nor follow any sultan's code; I worry not for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saadi/astride-a-horse-i-am-not-nor-camel-like-carry-a-load-subjects-i-have/) [Saadi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saadi/) > [Rich folks may ride on camels, but it ain't so easy for 'em to see out of a needle's eye.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/rich-folks-may-ride-on-camels-but-it-ain-t-so-easy-for-em-to-see-out/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [Death is a black camel, which kneels at the gates of all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abdelkader-el-djezairi/death-is-a-black-camel-which-kneels-at-the-gates-of-all/) [Abdelkader El Djezairi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abdelkader-el-djezairi/) > [Camels are snobbish and sheep, unintelligent; water buffaloes, neurasthenic-- even murderous. Reindeer seem over-serious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-moore/camels-are-snobbish-and-sheep-unintelligent-water-buffaloes/) [Marianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-moore/) > [My heart has become capable of every form: It is a pasture for gazelles And a monastery for Christian monks, And the pilgrim's Ka'ba,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibn-arabi/my-heart-has-become-capable-of-every-form-it-is-a-pasture-for/) [Ibn Arabi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibn-arabi/) > [“I want to spit back at a camel and ask him what he's so sour about. Maybe camels are the real 'Old Ones' on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/i-want-to-spit-back-at-a-camel-and-ask-him-what-he-s-so-sour-about/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [It's the camel's nose in the tent. 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