Cheetah

Acinonyx jubatus

Description:

The cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) is a large-sized feline (family Felidae) inhabiting most of Africa and parts of the Middle East. The cheetah is the only extant member of the genus Acinonyx, most notable for modifications in the species' paws. As such, it is the only felid with non-retractable claws and pads that, by their scope, disallow gripping (therefore cheetahs cannot climb vertical trees, although they are generally capable of reaching easily accessible branches). The cheetah, however, achieves by far the fastest land speed of any living animal—between 112 and 120 km/h (70 and 75 mph) in short bursts covering distances up to 500 m (1,600 ft), and has the ability to accelerate from 0 to over 100 km/h (62 mph) in three seconds.

Habitat:

Allwetterzoo, Münster, Germany----------Natural Habitat: There are several geographically isolated populations of cheetah, all of which are found in Africa or southwestern Asia. A small population (estimated at about fifty) survive in the Khorasan Province of Iran, where conservationists are taking steps to protect them. The cheetah thrives in areas with vast expanses of land where prey is abundant. The cheetah likes to live in an open biotope, such as semidesert, prairie, and thick brush, though it can be found in a variety of habitats. In Namibia, for example, it lives in grasslands, savannahs, areas of dense vegetation, and mountainous terrain.

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10 Comments

AntónioGinjaGinja 11 years ago

beautiful capture Brinschk,congrats and thanks for sharing

KarenL 11 years ago

Hi Brinschk, thank you for confirming that. I'm sorry we had to ask but we have to be very careful in case one of our users shares an image that they do not have the rights to.
It looks like you are the one who has been a victim of copyright theft as your wonderful photo appears on a Spanish website http://artescritorio.com/wallpapers-chee...

Brinschk 11 years ago

One more thing, my boyfriend and i share this account, because we often don't exactly know who took a Picture.. So don't be alarmed if you see some of my spottings at fotocommunity.de, photographed by themanwhowouldbeking.. that's my boyfriend..

Brinschk 11 years ago

Hey, where have you seen it? I personally took the Picture, i can even remember the setting, there where childs playing in front of it's Area and the cheetah was very concentrated in watching them.. if you saw it on fotocommunity.de, me and my boyfriend do have an account there, perhaps that caused the question? I posted it there some time ago.. Many of my other Pictures are there, too.. My Name there is also Brinschk, my boyfriends name is themanwhowouldbeking.. I hope this answers the question..

Wild Things 11 years ago

Hi Brinschk!
This image has been seen on the internet. Can you please confirm if this has been clicked by you or you have the permission to upload this photo. I hope you will understand. Thanks.