Cheetah - Acinonyx jubatus

The epitome of speed for many children lies in the Cheetah, the fastest running animal in the world. This sleek Big Cat has made its mark on the world with its ferocious burst of speeds over 100 kilometres per hour. 

This spotty cat is quite different from any other in many ways, one difference lies in the fact that it has blunt and only semi-retractable claws, which help maintain traction at high speeds. 

This iconic cat of Africa is currently listed as ‘vulnerable’ on the IUCN redlist with less than 7,000 wild mature animals, a very worrying number. They face a number of threats, mainly due to habitat loss as they require very large areas to thrive. They often come into conflict with farmers as they pick off livestock when natural prey is not so abundantly available. They face a number of other pressures from roads, hunting for skins, unregulated tourism and new resource extraction infrastructure.