Appearance

The name "cheetah" comes from a Hindi word meaning "spotted one" or from the Sanskrit word "chitraka". An adult has yellow or tan fur with solid black round or oval spots measuring .75 to 1.5 inches (1.9 to 3.8 centimeters) in diameter. The spots cover nearly the entire body; only the white throat and abdomen are unmarked. The tail ends with 4-6 black rings and a bushy, white tuft. The spot pattern plus the ring pattern on the tail enable the identification of specific cheetahs (by humans). The head is small with eyes set high and a black "tear mark" running from the inner aspect of each eye down to the mouth. The teeth are small to accommodate large nasal passages. An adult cheetah weighs 80-140 pounds (36-64 kilograms), is about 32 inches (81 centimeters) tall at the shoulder and 48-56 inches (121-142 centimeters) long with another 28-32 inches (70-81 centimeters) in tail - males are a little larger than females. Cheetahs are sometimes mistaken for leopards - much heavier animals with rosette shaped spots and no tear marks.

King Cheetah

The King Cheetah (also known as Cooper's), once thought to be a separate sub-species, is an African Cheetah exhibiting a rare fur pattern mutation. A recessive gene must be inherited from both parents in order for this "blotchy" pattern to appear. First discovered in Zimbabwe in 1926, this very rare animal has been seen in the wild only 6 times. It has been known to exist in Zimbabwe, Botswana and in the northern part of South Africa's Transvaal province. The DeWildt Cheetah Research Centre in South Africa specializes in breeding this cat in captivity.

Teeth

Although this cheetah looks pretty fierce its teeth are small compared to those of other big cats. The teeth are small because everything about the cheetah is designed to enhance its running speed. To run really fast requires lots of oxygen and to breathe in lots of oxygen the cheetah needs very large nasal passages. But large nasal passages leave no space for the long roots required to anchor big teeth. Without large teeth the cheetah is limited in its fighting abilities. It is easily overwhelmed by larger, stronger cats like lions. Because of its short teeth a cheetah must kill its prey by suffocation - the jaw structure enables a vise-like grip.

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