cheetah, carnivore of the cat family, Acinonyx jubatus, native to Africa S of the Sahara and SW Asia as far east as India. Formerly numerous all over their range, they are extinct now in Asia except for small numbers in Iran's Dasht-e Kavir, and are threatened in all of their range. The cheetah's method of hunting deviates from that of most cats in that it runs down its prey, rather than stalking it and pouncing upon it for the kill. This doglike method of hunting is suited to its habitat, which is open grassland. The swiftest four-footed animal alive, it can achieve bursts of speed of over 60 mi (95 km) per hr and is the only animal capable of running down black bucks and gazelles.

An average cheetah is about 21/2 ft (75 cm) tall at the shoulder and weighs about 100 lb (45 kg). It has long legs and a tawny coat with closely spaced round black spots. It is unique among cats in having nonretractile claws. Cheetahs are tamable and were used for centuries in India for hunting game; they sometimes have been called hunting leopards.

Cheetahs are classified in the phylum Chordata, subphylum Vertebrata, class Mammalia, order Carnivora, family Felidae.

Slender, long-legged cat (Acinonyx jubatus) that lives on open plains of southern, central, and eastern Africa, and in the Middle East, where it is all but extinct. The fastest land animal in the world over short distances, it can reach a speed as great as 71 mph (114 kph). Its claws differ from those of other cats in being only partly retractable and in lacking protective sheaths. Like cats in the genus Felis, cheetahs purr rather than roar. The cheetah grows to about 55 in. (140 cm) long, excluding the 29–31-in. (75–80-cm) tail, and weighs 75–119 lbs (34–54 kg). The adult's coarse fur is sandy yellow above, white below, and covered with small black spots; a black streak runs down the face from the corner of each eye. The cheetah hunts by day, alone or in small groups.

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