09/05/2020
- The cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) is a large cat native to and central . It is the land animal, capable of running at 80 to 128 km/h (50 to 80 mph), and as such has several adaptations for 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 ). Its head is small, rounded, and has a short snout and black tear-like facial streaks. The coat is typically to creamy white or pale buff and is mostly covered with evenly spaced, solid black spots. Four subspecies are recognised. The cheetah occurs in a variety of habitats such as in the , ranges in the and hilly terrain in Iran. The cheetah is threatened by habitat loss, conflict with and . Earlier ranging throughout most of Sub Saharan Africa and extending eastward into the Middle East up to the subcontinent, the cheetah is now distributed in mainly small, fragmented populations in central Iran and southern, eastern and northwestern Africa.
(KVNP)