Cheetah

Cheetah, common name for a large cat, found mainly in Africa but with small populations in Iran, that has a similar body weight to the leopard (50 to 60 kg/110 to 130 lb) but has a longer body, much longer legs, and a smaller head. The head and body, without the tail, are about 1.1 to 1.5 m (3y to 5 ft) long, and the claws are short and lack the sheath that covers retracted claws in other cat species. The coat is yellowish-brown with black spots; cubs also have a spotted coat, but over the back and head is a mantle of long, silky, grey hair that remains for up to four months. Female cheetahs are solitary animals, except when with their cubs. Mature males generally travel alone or in groups of two to three males, often siblings, joining females only at mating time. The female cheetah’s pregnancy lasts three months. She gives birth to two to four cubs, which stay with her for between 13 and 20 months.

The body of the cheetah is adapted for taking prey by running rather than by leaping from ambush, as with the leopard, and the cheetah hunts by sight rather than by smell. Over short distances it is the fastest land-living animal that exists, being able to attain speeds up to about 110 km/h (68 mph). It hunts by day, feeding mainly on antelopes. The cheetah was formerly trained and used for hunting in Pakistan and India; it is now extinct or endangered in much of its range. In tropical Africa, where it lives on open plains, the cheetah is an endangered species. Wild cheetahs are highly inbred, as evidenced by the extreme lack of genetic variation in modern populations.

Scientific classification: The cheetah belongs to the family Felidae. It is classified as Acinonyx jubatus.