Cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) Fact Sheet

Fact Summary
Taxonomy and Nomenclature
Distribution and Habitat
Physical Characteristics
Behavior and Ecology
Diet and Feeding
Reproduction and Development
Diseases and Pathology
Managed Care
Population and Conservation Status
Web Resources
Bibliography

TAXONOMY AND NOMENCLATURE
(Caro 1994) (Collier and O'Brien 1985) (Ellerman and Morrison-Scott 1951)
(McKenna and Bell 1997) (Wilson and Reeder 2005 )

Describer (Date): Schreber 1776. Die Saugethiere, 3:pl. 105 [1776]: 392, 586 [1777] Cape of Good Hope, South Africa. Described as Felis jubata. Describer of genus: Brookes, 1828. Cat. Anat. Zool. Mus. J. Brookes, London, p. 16, 33

Kingdom: Animalia
    Phylum: Chordata
         Class: Mammalia
             Order: Carnivora
                 Family: Felidae
                     Subfamily: Pantherinae (Leopard, lion, tiger, jaguar, snow leopard)
                     Subfamily: Felinae (Lynx, bobcat, caracal, puma, fishing cat, ocelot, margay,
                                          jaguarundi, serval)
                           Genus: Acinonyx
                                  Species: Acinonyx jubatus
                                          Subspecies:      Acinonyx jubatus jubatus (Schreber 1776)
                                                                        A. jubatus velox (Heller 1913)
                                                                        A. jubatus raineyii (Heller 1913)
                                                                        A. jubatus soemmeringii (Fitzinger 1855)
                                                                        A. jubatus hecki (Hilzheimer 1913)
                                                                        A. jubatus venaticus (Griffith 1821)
                                                                        A. jubatus raddei (Hilzheimer 1913)

Taxonomy and Nomenclature

Subspecies
- Subspecies from Caro 1994, Appendix 5. A. j. velox and A. j. raineyii probably synonyms. A. j. raddei presumed extinct.
- Wilson and Reeder (1992) consider all subspecies to be synonyms.
Common name
- "Cheetah" derived from Hindu word "chita," ("spotted one")
- See Peter Jackson’s IUCN Cat Specialist Group web page for exhaustive common names list
Scientific Name: Acinonyx may be derived from the Greek akaina (a thorn) and onyx (a claw). Jubatus is Latin, refers to mantle on juveniles and some adults.

Phylogeny

Felidae and Canidae diverged from a common ancestor about 50 million years ago.
Fossil records show cheetah-like cats ranged across Asia, Africa, and North America as recently as 10,000 years ago.
McKenna and Bell (1997) place cheetahs in their own subfamily "Acinonychinae".
Collier and O’Brien (1985) do not recognize the subfamily "Acinonychinae." Their molecular analysis proposes three lines of cats:
- Ocelot (South American) lineage: includes ocelot, Geoffrey’s cat, margay, tiger cat, kodkod, pampas cat
- Domestic cat lineage: includes Pallas cat, African wildcat, sand cat, jungle cat, European wildcat, black-footed cat, domestic cat
- Pantherine lineage: includes cheetah, lion, tiger, lynx, puma, serval, marbled cat, and jaguarondi
Recent genetic work divides modern cats into eight lineages with the cheetah placed with jaguarundi and puma in the Puma lineage. (O'Brien and Johnson 2005, Johnson et al 2006).

DISTRIBUTION AND HABITAT
(Byers et al 1995) (Gros and Rejmanek 1999) (Jackson 1998) (Marker-Kraus 1997)
(Saleh et al 2001)

Asiatic cheetah, A. jubatus venaticus: Iran, provinces Khorassan, Semnan, Tehran, Isfahan, Yazd, Kerman (approx. 40-200); possibly also in Egypt. Extinct in India. The other Asian supspecies, A. jubatus raddei (Turkestan), presumed extinct
African cheetah: Widespread in southern and eastern Africa. Largest free-range population in Namibia (A. jubatus jubatus, approx. 2500). Ranges:
- A. jubatus jubatus, Southern Africa (approx. 10,000)
- A. jubatus velox / A. jubatus raineyii, East Africa (less than 1000)
- A. jubatus soemmeringii, Sudan (less than 2000)
- A. jubatus hecki, North-West Africa (less than 500)
Usually found in semi-open country (bush and savanna woodlands). Includes cover (bushes, medium-length grasses, trees). Places with no cover make it difficult to get close to prey
Does well in arid/semi-arid habitat (Iranian population endures yearly temperature ranges from below 0C to 45C)

Distribution Map from African Mammals Databank, based on Nowell and Jackson (1996) and updated with Jackson's suggestions (1997)

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
(Caro 1994) (Eaton 1974) (Estes 1990) (Londei 2000) (Williams et al 1997)

Body Weight: 39-65 kg (86-143 lbs)
Body length: 112-135 cm (44-53 inches)
Tail length: 66-84 cm (26-33 inches)

General

"Medium" sized cat (similar size to American cougar, which may be closest relative) with unique morphology:
Slight build with deep narrow chest. Swayback with flexible spine.
Long, thin legs. Small feet with blunt, unsheathed claws. Dewclaw enlarged. Pads extremely hard and pointed in front. Front paws have longitudinal ridges.
Long tail used as rudder during high-speed chases
Large lungs, bronchi, heart, andrenals
Short neck. Small, round head with rounded ears and foreshortened face. Enlarged nasal apertures.
Teeth (especially canines) relatively small

Pelage

Adult pelage varies from region to region.
Tawny to light brown with white underparts
Short ruff (more developed in males, longer in "King Cheetah")
Hair fluffy on belly and chest
Small and large solid black spots. Arrangement unique to each individual
Outer tail ringed black and white; tail tip usually white
Black ear backs, nose, "tear tracks" and lips
Tear streak extends from corner of eye to upper lip (behind canines)
Juvenile

Light gray and brown with darker gray spots at birth
Mantle of long, gray to blue-black hair
Coat tawny by four months, but gray mantle persists 15+ months

"King Cheetah" (A. jubatus with single recessive gene):
- Blotched coat pattern caused by recessive gene
- "Spots" elongate and merge forming irregular pattern, including thick, elongate stripes along spine
- Rare regional variant found in/around Zimbabwe
- "King" cheetahs and "regular" cheetahs can occur in same litter

BEHAVIOR AND ECOLOGY
(Beekman et al 1997) (Brahmachary et al 1999) (Caro 1994) (Durant 2000a)(Estes 1990)
(Frame 1981) (Kingdon 1977) (Laurenson et al 1995) (Meltzer 1987) (Poddar-Sarkar 1997)

Activity Cycle

Daily Pattern

Dependent upon type of prey, habitat, climate, human activity
Hunt mainly between 0700-1000 and 1600-1900
Rest in the middle of the day 0930-1700
Serengeti cheetahs routinely go four days between drinks. Kalahari cheetahs, which regularly consume melons, can go up to 10 days without water.

Social Group

General

More social than most felids (except lions)
Cubs stay with mother until almost full-grown (about 1.25 years)
Females live alone but may share overlapping territories
Male litter-mates may form coalition groups, since it’s difficult for single males to maintain territories. Coalitions may include unrelated males.
Coalition members sometimes groom other coalition members (more likely between related males). Grooming reciprocated 60.3% of the time. Purring occasionally heard during grooming.
Non-territorial males live nomadic lives.

Hunting

Hunt by sight. May watch herd from vantage point (termite mound, tree, other high point)
If cover is available, cheetah creeps as close as it can, stalking semi-crouched with head lowered, trotting, freezing, dropping to the ground to avoid discovery
Prefers to stalk to within 50m before charging.
Will choose isolated individual or fawns flushed out from hiding places. Chases mammals weighing less than 40 kg (88 lbs). About half of chases are successful. Success rate when hunting fawns nearly 100%
Hunting behavior intensified when prey runs. Animals that don’t run are sometimes left alone.
Average speed during chase, 64 kph (40 mph), with top speed of 112 kph (70 mph). Flexible spine allows for long strides.
Lack stamina and must overtake prey within 200-300m. Chases last approximately 20 seconds--rarely more than one minute.
Trips prey by hooking animal’s leg, or uses specialized dewclaw to latch onto the animal’s flank or back, pulling prey down. (Other large felids use strong body impact to knock down prey.)
Short, blunt, partly retractile claws not suitable for raking or killing prey but provide good traction for quick turns
Canines too short to do more than puncture skin of prey, so applies pressure to shut off air supply. Small/young prey may be suffocated by having muzzle completely within cheetah’s mouth (cheetah’s large nasal apertures enable easy breathing)
Many groups kill daily. Single animals kill less frequently.

Territorial Behavior

Many female ranges may overlap one another. Average size of female’s territory in Serengeti: 833.0 km2 (517.6 sq. miles), approx. five times larger than male territories.
Male cheetahs set up territory (away from mother’s territory) by three years of age. Average size of male’s territory in Serengeti: 37.4 km2 (23.2 sq. miles).
Serengeti males without territories roam over large areas (777.2 km2 or 482.9 sq. miles) that include territories held by other males.

Play

Mother plays with cubs
Most intensive play between siblings, batting with forepaws, leaping, spinning in mid-air, tugging contests, attempts to dislodge each other from vantage points.
At approx. 15 months, sexual elements such as mock mountings occur

Aggression

Avoid confrontations with other large carnivores such as lions, hyenas
Dominance/Threat display:
- Approaches stiff-legged with head below shoulders. Presents body laterally. Adopts aggressive facial expression. May charge.
- Will respond to other cheetahs (and sometimes human captors) with "bluff threat:" Teeth shown in wide-mouth snarl, body hunched, head lowered, eyes staring upward, abrupt small leaps and/or sudden charges, combined with a hard downward thump on the ground with both forepaws Bluffs rarely turn into attacks. May defend prey with this technique.
Submission displays:
- Close: Fall on back and present white underparts while moaning
- Distant: sits on haunches, turns ears down, and looks away with mouth closed, hiding the black lips

Communication

Vocalization

Vocalizations: Wide variety of calls. Cubs freeze/move according to mother’s vocal cues.
"Yelp." A contact call usually from mother seeking her cubs, juveniles in a sib group, or males in a coalition. Can be heard from a distance of 2 km. (Caro 1994 calls this "yipping")
"Whirring." Equivalent to a warning growl, heard by juveniles at a kill as they compete for food. Can turn into high-pitched rasp or squeal.
"Chirping." Greeting between cheetahs who know each other, around female in estrus, or at scenting post. Can be accompanied by purring.
"Purring." During play and friendly meetings. May be accompanied by cheek rubbing, mutual sniffing and face licking.
"Stutter bark." Rapid, repetitive, low pitched sound, usually made by males when estrus female detected, occasionally by female when approached by males. (Caro 1994 calls this "churring")
"Yowling." Drawn-out bleat-like moan

Olfactory signals

Scent marking in cheetahs predominantly male activity. Females mark around the time of estrus
Territories and preferred routes are marked with urine, feces and occasionally claw marks.
Males use urine to mark prominent structures (mounds, boulders, trees)
Feces may also be deposited on prominent landmarks.

Locomotion (speed)

Varying estimates: frequently given as 68 mph or 110 kph
Antelopes: speed reaches 80-97 kph (42-60 mph). They can run much further than cheetahs.
Hunting sprints last for 100-300 m
Published report of a timed test (J. Zoology 241(3) 493-494 1997): 64 mph (102 kph).
Captive cheetah race in Cape Town, South Africa, won by 3 year old male (100 meters in 6.3 secs)

Interspecies Interaction

Lions, hyenas kill up to 70% of cheetah cubs before they are independent of mother(Laurenson et al 1995)
Lions also kill adult cheetahs.
Lion and hyena avoidance is learned response in cheetahs; predator naivete is problem in reintroduction programs
Kill may be stolen by other predators, especially lions and hyenas, but also baboons, leopards, jackals and vultures

DIET AND FEEDING
(Caro 1994) (Dierenfeld 1993) (Wildt et al 1994)

Prey percentage depends on geographic location (summarized in Appendix 3, Caro 1994)
- East Africa: Thomson’s gazelle 22%, Grant’s gazelle 21.4%, impala 15.6%; hare, oribi, wildebeest, hartebeest, less than 4% each
- Nairobi National Park: Thomson’s gazelle 9.4-21.9%, Grant’s gazelle 17.0-24.6%, impala 27.4-35.8%; Coke’s hartebeest 9.4-12%, Warthog 7.5-2.2%
- Masai Mara: Thomson’s gazelle 41.7%, impala 32.3%, wildebeest 12.5%, topi 5.2%
- Serengeti: Thomson’s gazelle 56.0-89.0%, Grant’s gazelle 2.2-9.3%, Wildebeest 26.0-9%
- Kalahari: Springbok 86.9%, wildebeest 3.5%, ostrich 3.5%
- Kafue National Park: Puku 45.5%, reedbuck 12.1%, Lichenstein’s hartebeest 9.1%
- Transvaal: Impala 85.1%, greater kudu 8.5%, wildebeest 6.4%
- Kruger National Park: impala 65.0%, greater kudu 6.8%, waterbuck 6.7%

Eating
- cuts open prey’s abdomen with teeth
- consumes large muscle groups on prey’s limbs, back and neck first
- usually doesn’t eat skin or bone. May squeeze out contents of intestine before consuming
- can eat 14 kg (30.9 lbs) at one sitting
- group of 4 cheetah can finish impala in 15 minutes
- Usually don’t return to kills, although mother with cubs may cover kill with earth or grass and return with cubs
- May remain near large kills
- An adult, non-reproducing captive cheetah eats on average 1.3 kg (2.9 lbs) food/day and 1800 kcal/day

REPRODUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT
(Beekman et al 1999) (Bircher & Noble 1997) (Caro 1994) (Kingdon 1977) (Laurenson et al 1995)
(Lindburg et al 1993) (Meltzer 1987) (Wildt & Roth 1997) Courtship

Sexually active year-round.
Female rolls and self-grooms when male encountered.
Female may run away and approach male several times.
Female may growl if male sniffs nearby vegetation and slap males that sniff her.
Males can be very aggressive to female in estrus, knocking her down, biting at her hindquarters, slapping at her.
If knocked down, female may "yip" at male, lay dorsally in a defensive threat, and strike at males that get too close.
Males in coalitions approached 68.9% of single females encountered. Although males might hiss and growl at each other, aggression between males infrequent

Reproductive rate

Average intervals between litters, 15-19 months.
If litter is lost, female goes into estrus and can produce a second litter.
Serengeti National Park: viable litters conceived within month after previous litter lost.

Gestation: 90-98 days

Life Stages

Birth

Eyes open at 4-11 days
Deciduous teeth approximately 3 weeks
Ambulatory at 3 weeks, but do not leave den until approx. 6 weeks
Pelage: Dirty white-gray above, black below
- Long ruff of gray hair covers back, nape and crown
- Cub is tawny and has spots at approx. 3 months, but traces of ruff persist through 15 months

Litter size: usually 3-4

Infants/Juveniles

At birth:
- Wild: birth weight is 150-350 g. (0.33-0.77 lbs) with average daily growth 44.6 g/day (0.09 lb)
- Captive: birth weight is 380-700 g. (0.84-1.54 lbs), ave. daily growth 50+/-1.3 g/day (0.11 lb)
- Male cubs heavier than females
- Birth length: approx. 30 cm (11.8 inches)

Feeding pattern:
- Cubs start taking meat at approx. 9 weeks
- Mother tears open carcass, waits for young to eat; the time she waits decreases weekly until by week 15 she eats at same time as cubs
- Cubs cease suckling at approx. 16 weeks

Growth is rapid. By 6 months, cub half adult size.
8 months, adult canines come in (last of deciduous teeth)
- Cubs begin play-stalking prey.
- Mother starts bringing back young, live animals to the cubs (prior to 8 months, cubs may "strangle" dead prey)
12-14 months, stalks begin to be successful. Leave mother at 13-20 months (females), 30-36 months (males)

Weaning: varies. Female lactates for 14-24 weeks.

Adults

Male sexual maturity 2.5-3 years
- 15 months, adult-sized males have testes volume equivalent to males of prime breeding age, but lack adult levels of testosterone
- Last reproduction: 14 years
- Semen has high proportion of abnormal sperm (60%-90%)
- Sperm motility is less vigorous, with shorter longevity, than domestic or other exotic cats
- 12 male cheetahs at SD Wild Animal Park diagnosed with poor quality sperm. Despite that, in 10 years, 10 of the 12 males fathered offspring

Female sexual maturity: 21-22 months.
- Ovulation: primarily induced by mating, but spontaneous ovulation may sometimes occur. Only other felids with spontaneous ovulation domestic cat, clouded leopard
- Last reproduction: 14 years.

Longevity

12-14 years in the wild. Females = 7 years, males in coalitions = 8 years.
Captivity: longest living cheetah, 21 years. Average range in captivity, 8-12 years.

GENETICS
(Laurenson et al 1995) (Merola 1994)(O’Brien et al 1985) (O'Brien & Johnson 2005) (Wielebnowski 1996)

Cheetahs demonstrate extreme lack of genetic diversity when compared to all mammals as a whole. Theoretical bottleneck dates back approx. 10,000 years. However, carnivores tend to have lower genetic diversity than other mammals (Merola 1994)
Reduced genetic variability results in high infant mortality (30-40%) (O'Brien & Johnson 2005)
Species with reduced genetic variability may have compromised immune systems
- Famous example: in 1982-1983, over 90% of 42 cheetahs at Wildlife Safari, Oregon, contracted an infectious disease; 18 cheetahs subsequently died. Lions at the same park escaped infection.
- Species lifestyle in the wild offers some protection: asocial, dry climate, feed on fresh kills
- Threatened by exposure to disease reservoirs of domestic animals.

PATHOLOGY AND DISEASES
(Brown et al 1993) (Downes 1999) (Kingdon 1977) (Marker-Kraus et al 1997) (Munson 1999)
(Munson & Marker-Kraus 1997) (Munson et al 1999) (O’Brien et al 1985) (Setchell et al 1987)
(Wielebnowski 1996)(Wildt et al 1994)
Problems known to affect wild cheetahs:

Anthrax, tick fever, feline enteritis, mange
Abnormal sperm
Wild Namibian cheetahs: Focal palatine erosion (FPE), potentially fatal dental condition linked to renal failure in captive cheetahs

Diseases known in captive cheetahs

Leukoencephalopathy
- Neurologic disease
- Symptoms include blindness, loss of voluntary muscle control, lack of response to environment; however, afflicted cheetahs do not necessarily exhibit specific neurologic signs
- Not known in captive population before 1996
- Only animals 7+ years old affected
- Vast majority of cases in U.S.; one known case in England
Gastritis
- Intermittent vomiting, weight loss, failure to thrive, stunted growth in juveniles, ulcers
- Amyloidosis (which leads to blood flow reduction) in kidneys (secondary infection resulting from chronic inflammation)
- Although Helicobacter spp. are present in gastric mucosal lining (esp. Helicobacter acinonyx), wild cheetah with these bacteria do not exhibit gastritis or stomach lesions.
- Treatment regime: Wack et al, Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine 28(3):260-266, 1997
Liver Disease
- Veno-occlusive disease most common reason for liver-related death in captive cheetahs (U.S., Europe, Australia). Not found in wild cheetahs nor in captive cheetahs in Africa
Feline Infectious Peritonitis (FIP)
- Caused by coronavirus (immogenic virus with RNA genome)
- Disease of domestic cats
- 1982-1983: 38 of 42 cheetahs in Oregon breeding colony ("Wildlife Safari") contracted FIP. 18 animals died of coronavirus diseases associated with FIP exposure.
- Low genetic diversity and crowded captive living conditions may make cheetahs highly vulnerable to outbreaks of this and other diseases.
Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV)
- In domestic cats, leads to loss of immune function that can cause AIDs-like opportunistic infections
- Discovered in captive cheetah population in 1986
Feline Leukemia Virus (FeLV)
- Only very few cases reported in captive cheetahs
- Felid TAG does not recommend vaccinating exotic felids for FeLV
Ataxia in Cheetah Cubs
- Neurological condition affecting entire litters 8-24 weeks after birth
- Symptoms: head shaking, hind limb weakness sometimes leading to paralysis, fever, upper respiratory infections.
- Sometimes fatal. Survivors may live normal lifespans (12-14 years reported for 6 afflicted cubs in South Africa) but have degree of impairment for entire lives
Cub Mortality in Captive Population
- Cheetah juvenile mortality in captivity lower than six other felid groups.
- Cheetah litters had "the highest average litter size, and the highest average number of surviving cubs per litter...when compared to other captive-bred North American felid populations." (Wielebnowski 1996)
- Schumann and Schumann (1996) contains formula and solids for hand-raising cheetah cubs
Sedation of cheetahs: different methods/drugs discussed in Meltzer 1987

MANAGED CARE
(Caro 1994) (Grisham 1997) (Kingdon 1977) (Marker-Kraus 1997)
General

Cheetahs used as coursers throughout Asia, Northern Africa and Europe
Sumerian seal shows leashed cheetah (c. 3000 BCE). Other images of captive cheetah date from 700-300 BCE (burial site in Caucasus) and 309-246 BCE (Ptolemy II in Egypt)
Mongol emperors between 13th-16th centuries kept hundreds of trained cheetahs. Kublai Khan had an extensive stable of hunting cheetahs.
The only known captive birth prior to the 20th century was in palace of 15th century Mongol emperor
Demand for hunting cheetahs created continual drain on the wild population
Hand-raised cubs could not be trained to hunt, so young adult males captured from the wild were used
Records of hunting with cheetahs exist from Scythians, Assyrians, ancient Egyptians, Indians. In Italy, cheetahs were used as hunters from 5th century to early Renaissance. George III of England had a hunting cheetah.

Zoo History:

1829: One animal at the Zoological Society of London. Animal lived less than one year.
1871: First exhibited in America, Central Park Zoo
1939: Five cheetahs presented to the Zoological Society of San Diego as a gift from Osa Johnson.
1956: First captive birth, Philadelphia Zoo. Litter did not survive
1970: San Diego Zoological Society, litter of three cubs born (11/22/70). Male cub, Juba, becomes first zoo-born cheetah cub to survive infancy
1975: Importation of wild-caught cheetahs dramatically reduced due to CITES legislation

ISIS captive population

POPULATION AND CONSERVATION STATUS
(Durant 2000a)(Jackson 1998)(Laurenson et al 1995)(Merola 1994)(Myers 1975)(Rangaranjan 1998)
(Saleh et al 2001)

1871: Rewards offered for killing cheetahs (adults and cubs) in India
1900: Wild population in Asia and Africa estimated at 100,000 animals, although cheetahs in India considered rare
Early 20th century: cheetahs, used as coursers in hunts, had to be imported into India and Iran
1947: Three males shot in India. No reliable sightings in India since. Declared extinct in 1952.
1956: Last sighting of cheetah in Israel.
1975: Sub-Saharan Africa population estimated at 15,000
1994: c. 12,000 in 23 African countries, with most in southern Africa. Less than 200 estimated in Iran.
1996: Largest free-ranging cheetah population at 2500 (estimated) in Namibia; over 95% live outside of conservation areas and risk conflict with livestock and ranchers
1997: Last reported sighting of cheetah in Egypt’s Qattara Depression
1998: 40-200 Asiatic cheetah (A. jubatus venaticus) in wild (Iran). Only one known in captivity, rescued as cub in 1995.

Threats to survival

Habitat destruction and fragmentation
Agricultural growth
Removal/destruction of cheetah by ranchers
Wire-snare poaching (wire-snares used to catch "bush meat" animals, but predators fall victim as well)
Predation of young by lions, hyenas, leopards and wild dogs. These animals as well as baboons, jackals, and vultures can drive cheetahs from their kills
Loss of wild prey base.
1996: CITES, Appendix 1. Red List data as follows: (www.redlist.org)
- Acinonyx jubatus ssp. venaticus, Asiatic cheetah: Critically Endangered
- Acinonyx jubatus ssp. hecki, Northwest African cheetah: Endangered
- Acinonyx jubatus, all other subspecies: Vulnerable

Other Web Resources

IUCN Cat Specialist Group
Big Cats On Line
AZA Felid TAG
Cats! From Wild to Mild. Exhibit at LA’s Natural History Museum
Cheetah Conservation Fund

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