FaunaHub

Cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus)

MammalCatSprint Predator

Adult cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) standing in dry grassland in Kruger National Park.

Cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) in Kruger National Park, South Africa.

Image: Mukul2u, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Overview

The cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) is the fastest land animal and a wild cat distinct in build and behaviour from the "big cats" of genus Panthera. Cheetahs are slender, long-legged, and built for sprinting rather than wrestling. They have small heads, semi-retractile claws used to improve traction, and a distinctive set of black "tear lines" from the inner corner of the eye down the side of the face.

Conservation note: The cheetah is currently classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List (verify current status at iucnredlist.org before publication). Some regional populations — notably the Asiatic cheetah — are considered Critically Endangered.

Habitat & Range

Cheetahs are primarily associated with open and semi-open habitats — savanna, grassland, light woodland and arid scrub — where their high-speed pursuit strategy is most effective. The bulk of the wild population is in sub-Saharan Africa, with a very small relict Asiatic cheetah population in Iran.

Diet

Cheetahs are predominantly carnivorous and hunt medium-sized antelopes such as Thomson's gazelle and impala, depending on region. They are diurnal hunters — using the morning and late afternoon to avoid larger nocturnal competitors such as lions and spotted hyenas — and they rely on a short, very high-speed chase rather than ambush or endurance pursuit.

Behavior

Female cheetahs are typically solitary outside of raising cubs. Males may live alone or, in some populations, form small coalitions of related individuals. Cheetahs lack the vocal apparatus required to roar; they communicate through chirps, purrs, and other softer calls.

High-speed sprinting carries a metabolic cost, and cheetahs commonly need to rest after a successful chase before they can feed. This rest period makes them vulnerable to kleptoparasitism — losing the kill to larger predators or scavengers.

Human Interaction & Conservation

Conservation pressures on the cheetah include habitat loss, prey depletion, conflict with livestock owners, and a long history of illegal trade in cubs. Genetic studies have also documented unusually low genetic diversity across the species, which has implications for long-term population health.

Appearance & Recognition

Cheetahs are immediately separable from the "big cats" by build. The body is slender and lightly muscled with notably long legs, a deep but narrow chest, a small rounded head with small ears, and a long, banded tail used as a counterbalance in fast turns. The tan-to-yellow coat is marked with solid round black spotsrather than rosettes — a coat pattern that, together with the build, makes misidentification with leopards or jaguars unlikely at close range.

The diagnostic facial feature is the pair of black tear linesrunning from the inner corner of each eye down toward the corners of the mouth. Claws are semi-retractile, which leaves clearer claw marks in tracks than the fully retractile claws of leopards or jaguars. Appearance varies less between cheetah populations than between the spotted big cats, but the rare "king cheetah" coat — characterised by enlarged and partly merged markings — is a documented variant rather than a separate species.

Similar Animals

Cheetahs are often confused with leopards (Panthera pardus) but are distinct in build, coat pattern, and behaviour: cheetahs are slimmer, have solid round black spots rather than rosettes, and are sprint-adapted diurnal hunters.

Cheetah vs Leopard →

More photos of the cheetah

Adult cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) with two cubs in the Masai Mara, Kenya.

Cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) with cubs in the Masai Mara, Kenya.

Image: Fabiola Leyton and Carlos Castillo, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Adult cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) portrait, Ol Pejeta Conservancy, Kenya.

Cheetah portrait at Ol Pejeta Conservancy, Kenya.

Image: . Ray in Manila, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Frequently Asked Questions — Cheetah

How fast is a cheetah?
Cheetahs are the fastest land animals. Top speeds are commonly cited around 100–115 km/h in short sprints, with the exact peak varying by source and individual. Sprint runs are short — typically a few hundred metres at most — because of the metabolic cost involved.
Are cheetahs big cats?
Cheetahs are not part of the genus Panthera, which contains the lion, tiger, leopard, jaguar and snow leopard — the cats traditionally called 'big cats'. Cheetahs are placed in their own genus Acinonyx and differ anatomically and behaviourally from those species.
Why do cheetahs have tear lines?
The distinctive black 'tear lines' on a cheetah's face are most commonly explained as a glare-reduction adaptation that helps the animal hunt in bright daylight, similar in function to the eye-black used by some athletes. Other hypotheses exist; the trait is also visually diagnostic.
Can cheetahs roar?
No. Cheetahs are not built to roar. They communicate using chirps, purrs, hisses and a range of other vocalisations. Roaring is anatomically restricted to lions, tigers, leopards and jaguars (and is partial in snow leopards).

Sources and further reading

Authoritative wildlife references used for general educational context. Conservation status should always be verified against current IUCN Red List data. External links open in a new tab.