Cheetah

Acinonyx jubatus

Cheetahs are well known for being the fastest animals on land, reaching speeds of up to 110 km/h. Unlike other cats, their claws are clearly visible even when retracted. Cheetahs eat gazelles, young antelopes, young calves, warthogs, hares, and game birds but they can catch their prey in only about half of the chases.

Picture taken in the Attica Zoological Park, Athens, Greece, in June 2007.

Family Felidae
Superfamily Feloidea
Order Carnivora
Subclass Eutheria
Class Mammalia
Subphylum Vertebrata
Phylum Chordata
Kingdom Animalia
Life on Earth
Index