Cheetah

The cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) is a large cat native to Africa and central Iran.
It is the fastest land
animal, capable of running at 80 to 128 km/h (50 to 80 mph), and as such has several adaptations
for speed, including a light build, long thin legs and a long tail. Cheetahs typically reach 67–94 cm
(26–37 in) at the shoulder, and the head-and-body length is between 1.1 and 1.5 m (3.6 and 4.9 ft).
Adults typically weigh between 20 and 65 kg (44 and 143 lb). Its head is small, rounded, and has a
short snout and black tear-like facial streaks. The coat is typically tawny to creamy white or pale buff
and is mostly covered with evenly spaced, solid black spots. Four subspecies are recognised.
More gregarious than many other cats, the cheetah has three main social groups—females and their
cubs, male 'coalitions' and solitary males. While females lead a nomadic life searching for prey in
large home ranges, males are more sedentary and may instead establish much smaller territories in
areas with plentiful prey and access to females. The cheetah is active mainly during the day and
hunting is its major preoccupation, with peaks during dawn and dusk. It feeds on small- to medium-
sized prey, mostly weighing under 40 kg (88 lb), and prefers medium-sized ungulates such
as impala, springbok and Thomson's gazelles. The cheetah will typically stalk its prey to within 60–
70 m (200–230 ft), charge towards it, trip it during the chase and bite its throat to suffocate it to
death. Breeding occurs throughout the year; after a gestation of nearly three months a litter of
typically three to five cubs is born; cheetah cubs are highly vulnerable to predation by other large
carnivores such as hyenas and lions. Weaning happens at around four months, and cubs are
independent by around 20 months of age.
The cheetah occurs in a variety of habitats such as savannahs in the Serengeti, arid mountain
ranges in the Sahara and hilly desert terrain in Iran. The cheetah is threatened by several factors
such as habitat loss, conflict with humans, poaching and high susceptibility to diseases. Earlier
ranging throughout most of Sub-Saharan Africa and extending eastward into the Middle East up to
the Indian subcontinent, the cheetah is now distributed mainly in small, fragmented populations in
central Iran and southern, eastern and northwestern Africa. In 2016, the global cheetah population
was estimated at around 7,100 individuals in the wild; it is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List.
In the past, cheetahs used to be tamed and trained for hunting ungulates. They have been widely
depicted in art, literature, advertising, and animation.
Etymology
The vernacular name 'cheetah' is derived from Hindustani, which today is split into Hindi: चीता (cītā)
and Urdu: ‫( چیتا‬chītā),[5] which in turn comes from Sanskrit: चित्रय (cītra) meaning variegated, adorned or
painted.[6] In the past, cheetahs were often called "hunting leopards" because they could be tamed
and used as hunting companions.[7] The generic name Acinonyx probably derives from the
combination of two Greek words: ἁκινητος (akinitos) meaning 'unmoved' or 'motionless', and ὄνυξ
(onyx) meaning 'nail' or 'hoof'.[8] A rough translation would be 'immobile nails', a reference to the
cheetah's limited ability to retract its claws.[9] A similar meaning can be obtained by the combination
of the Greek prefix a– (implying a lack of) and κῑνέω (kīnéō) meaning to move or set in motion.[10] A
few old generic names such as Cynailurus and Cynofelis allude to the similarities between the
cheetah and canids.[11] The specific name jubatus is Latin for 'crested', in reference to the long hair on
the nape.[12]
Taxonomy
An illustration of the "woolly cheetah" (Felis lanea) from the Proceedings of the Zoological Society of
London (1877)
In 1777, Johann Christian Daniel von Schreber described the cheetah based on a skin from
the Cape of Good Hope and gave it the scientific name Felis jubatus.[13] Joshua Brookes proposed
the generic name Acinonyx in 1828.[14] In 1917, Reginald Innes Pocock placed the cheetah in a
subfamily of its own, Acinonychinae,[15] given its striking morphological resemblance to
the greyhound as well as significant deviation from typical felid features; the cheetah was classified
in Felinae in later taxonomic revisions.[16] In the 19th and 20th centuries, several
cheetah specimens were described; some were proposed as subspecies. An example is the South
African specimen known as the "woolly cheetah", named for its notably dense fur—this was
described as a new species (Felis lanea) by Philip Sclater in 1877,[17] but the classification was
mostly disputed.[18] There has been considerable confusion in the nomenclature of cheetahs
and leopards (Panthera pardus) as authors often confused the two; some considered "hunting
leopards" an independent species, or equal to the leopard.[19][20]
Subspecies

Cheetah

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The cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) is a large cat native to Africa and central Iran.

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