The cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) is a large cat native to Africa and central Iran. It is the fastest land animal, estimated to be capable of running at 80 to 128 kilometers/hour (50 to 80 mph) with the fastest reliably recorded speeds being 93 and 98 kilometers/hour (58 and 61 mph), and as such has several adaptations for speed, including a light build, long thin legs and a long tail. It typically reaches 67–94 centimeters (26–37 inches) at the shoulder, and the head-and-body length is between 1.1 and 1.5 meters (3 feet 7 inches and 4 feet 11 inches). Adults weigh between 21 and 72 kilograms (46 and 159 pounds). Its head is small and 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. 4 subspecies are recognized.
The cheetah lives in 3 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, with peaks during dawn and dusk. It feeds on small to medium-sized prey, mostly weighing under 40 kilograms (88 pounds), and prefers medium-sized ungulates such as impala, springbok and Thomson's gazelles. The cheetah typically stalks its prey to within 60–70 meters (200–230 feet), charges towards it, trips it during the chase and bites its throat to suffocate it to death. It breeds throughout the year. After a gestation of nearly 3 months, a litter of typically 3 or 4 cubs is born. Cheetah cubs are highly vulnerable to predation by other large carnivores such as hyenas and lions. They are weaned at around 4 months and 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. Historically ranging throughout most of Sub-Saharan Africa and extending eastward into the Middle East and to central India, 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 were tamed and trained for hunting ungulates. They have been widely depicted in art, literature, advertising, and animation.
History[]
Jurassic Park[]
- "They're lethal at eight months, and I do mean lethal. I've hunted most things that can hunt you, but the way these things move-
For a biped?
Cheetah speed. Fifty, sixty miles per hour, if they ever got out in the open. And they're astonishing jumpers." - —Robert Muldoon explaining the speed of Velociraptors to Alan Grant.(src)
Robert Muldoon stated that the Velociraptors can run at cheetah speed when he described the way they move to Alan Grant.
Jurassic World: Dominion[]
A cheetah was seen on the NowThis report hunting down a Compsognathus.
Games[]
Jurassic World: The Game[]
The modern cheetah was mentioned in the Evo 3 fact for Gallimimus (which can run in fact at up to 60 miles per hour).
Jurassic World Evolution[]
The cheetah was mentioned in the description for Gallimimus.
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