Large wild cat Acinonyx jubatus native to Africa, Arabia, and southwestern Asia, but now rare in some areas. Yellowish with black spots, it has a slim lithe build.
Cheetahs live in open country where they hunt small antelopes, hares, and birds.
A cheetah's claws do not retract as fully as in most cats. It is the world's fastest mammal. Cheetahs face threats both from ranchers who shoot them as vermin and from general habitat destruction that is reducing the prey on which they feed, especially gazelles.