Cheetahs

Cheetahs are a species of animal native to Azaad's territory, the Pride Lands, and the Tree of Life. They feed on antelope.
==History==
===Simba's presentation===
Cheetahs attended the presentation of Simba, the prince heir of Pride Rock.
===Kiara's presentation===
Cheetahs attended the presentation of Kiara, the princess heir of Pride Rock.
===Dawn of the Lion Guard===
When Kion became the leader of the new Lion Guard, he asked Fuli to be its fastest member. However, Simba disapproved of Kion's choice of teammates, as none of them were lions. Despite Simba's misgivings, Kion gifted his friends with the Mark of the Guard and led them into battle against Janja's clan. Together, the new Lion Guard drove the hyenas out of the Pride Lands, and Simba at last accepted them as the official protectors of the Pride Lands.
===Fuli's hunting attempts===
One day, Timon and Pumbaa invited Fuli to a celebratory feast at Hakuna Matata Falls, but she declined, as she wanted to hunt alone. Timon and Pumbaa reacted with horror, but Fuli explained that female cheetahs liked to hunt alone. Even so, they insisted that she accompany them to their meal, and she reluctantly agreed. Once she had left with Timon and Pumbaa, Beshte, Kion, and Ono resolved to involve her more in their activities.
At Hakuna Matata Falls, Timon and Pumbaa offered Fuli grubs, but she declined. They proceeded to pet her fur and remark on its softness, to her discomfort. Eventually, Fuli left to hunt on her own. However, Ono spotted her hunting solo and invited her to eat with his flock. She accepted, only to regret it when she found out that egrets liked to eat grubs and hop around in the mud.
Once more, Fuli attempted to hunt solo, but this time, Beshte interrupted her and insisted that she take a dip in the water with him. As Fuli approached a water hole, however, he accidentally knocked her into the water, and she left in a huff. Next, Kion invited her to hunt with the royal family, and she delightedly accepted. At first, she enjoyed tracking a gazelle alongside Kiara, but when Nala called for the hunt to stop, she protested that the gazelle had gotten away. She then turned her ire on Kion, insisting that she hunted so that she could eat and that she liked to be alone.
Later, after Fuli saved Bunga from Janja's clan, the Lion Guard decided to cool off at the watering hole. Kion told Fuli that it was okay if she would rather be alone, to which she explained that she liked being alone, especially when she was hunting, but that she liked spending time with her friends too. She then called them her "family" and embraced them.
===Vulture attack on Fuli===
One day, Fuli continually overexerted herself and took on missions solo. Eventually, Kion chastised her for her behavior, and she retorted that cheetahs did not get worn out. Though Ono attempted to correct her, she glared at him, and he backed off. Kion then ordered Fuli to get some rest while the rest of the Lion Guard searched for Utamu grubs. At first, Fuli acquiesced, but after growing bored, she decided to hunt.
While hunting, Fuli was approached by a duck, who warned her that a pair of oryxes were fighting near their nests. She followed the duck to the scene of the fight and ordered the oryxes to leave. Afterward, she collapsed from exhaustion. From a nearby tree, Mzingo and his parliament spotted Fuli and resolved to take advantage of her fatigue.
Together, the vultures surrounded Fuli, who made futile attempts to defend herself. Just in time, the Lion Guard arrived and fought the vultures off. Kion then used the Roar of the Elders to blow them away. Once the vultures were gone, Fuli admitted that she had not been helping the Lion Guard by going solo and getting worn out, and vowed to wait for them in the future.
===Fuli's rescue of the baby baboon===
When Mzingo's parliament attacked a baby baboon, the Lion Guard interceded and saved the infant's life. Afterward, Kion tasked Fuli with returning the baby baboon to Nyani Grove. Once at Nyani Grove, Fuli attempted to return the baby baboon to his troop, only for the baboon leader to explain that the infant hailed from Mapango Cliffs.
Along the way to Mapango Cliffs, Fuli bonded with the baby baboon and defended him from Mzingo's parliament. However, after she dropped the infant off with his troop, the vultures attacked, and she worked with the baboons to drive them off. After the fight, the baby baboon's mother thanked her for her help.
===Kongwe's escort===
When Simba resolved to speak with Kongwe, Fuli volunteered to fetch her so as to speed up the trip. While escorting Kongwe across the Pride Lands, Fuli expressed frustration with her slow pace and asserted that speed allowed one to experience more in life. Kongwe found Fuli's philosophy fascinating and ruminated on its implications.
Later, Makucha attacked Fuli, Kongwe, and Makini. Though Fuli attempted to defend Kongwe, Makucha ran in zig-zags so as to avoid her attacks. Kongwe advised Fuli to slow down and observe Makucha, which led her to realize that he always ran in zig-zags. She then used this knowledge to chase him in a direct line and catch up to him.
===Test in the Lair of the Lion Guard===
In a chamber below the Lair of the Lion Guard, the Lion Guard underwent several tests to prove that they were worthy. For Fuli's test, a giant boulder began rolling toward the Lion Guard, and she jumped onto it in an attempt to slow it down. When this failed, she instead sped the boulder up and steered it around her teammates.
===Azaad and Fuli's race===
While searching for tuliza, Fuli trespassed on Azaad's territory, and he ordered her to leave. Though she attempted to explain that she was helping her friends, he laughed at the notion of cheetahs having friends and asserted that cheetahs hunted alone. Fuli insisted that her friend needed tuliza and asked Azaad to guide her there. With some persuasion, he relented and told her that she had "the flame of a cheetah" in her heart. He added that he would only help her if she bested him in a race.
For their race, Azaad told Fuli to run to a rock on a mesa. As the race began, Fuli pulled ahead of Azaad. However, she tripped on a drop-off in the trail, and he streaked ahead of her at the last moment. Furious, Fuli accused Azaad of trickery and insisted that they race again, and he reluctantly acquiesced.
As Azaad and Fuli's second race began, Fuli pulled ahead once more, and Azaad risked a shortcut. However, in trying to jump a canyon to get ahead of Fuli, he nearly fell in, and she doubled back to save him. Incredulous, he asked her why she had not won the race, and she answered that friends helped friends. He then called her a "remarkable cheetah" and expressed how honored he was to be her friend.
Together, Azaad and Fuli gathered the tuliza and delivered it to Kion. Before departing the area with her friends, Fuli bade Azaad farewell, and he reiterated how glad he was for their friendship. They then parted ways.
===Kovu's exile===
Following Simba's proclamation that Kovu was banished from the Pride Lands, the cheetahs helped drive him away from Pride Rock.
===Marriage of Kovu and Kiara===
Cheetahs attended the marriage ceremony of Kovu and Kiara.
===Lion Guard's journey to the Pride Lands===
Azaad led Janja and Jasiri to the Tree of Life, where they warned the Lion Guard that the Outsiders were attacking the Pride Lands. The Lion Guard resolved to return home, and Azaad accompanied them. Along the way, he showed them a shortcut through a canyon, and Kion used the Roar of the Elders to widen the canyon so that the whole team could pass through. Together, the Lion Guard, Janja, Jasiri, and Azaad journeyed back to the Pride Lands.
At the border of the Outlands and the Pride Lands, Vitani and her self-formed Lion Guard attacked Kion's Lion Guard. In the ensuing battle, Azaad and Fuli struggled to fight Kasi, who escaped up a tree. Eventually, Kiara intervened and informed Kion that the Outsiders had joined Simba's pride.
===Battle of the Lion Guards===
For the Battle of the Lion Guards, Fuli challenged Kasi to a race and won. At the end of the competition, Kion's Lion Guard forfeited their roles to Vitani's Lion Guard and joined the Night Pride instead.
==Physical characteristics==
A cheetah is a moderately-sized, slender, four-legged feline with long limbs. It has golden fur covered in black spots, some of which form teardrop shapes. Cheetahs can have black, brown, or green eyes.
==Sociocultural characteristics==
Cheetahs are known for their swiftness. They are solitary animals and do not share territory or hunt with one another. They tend to dislike water. Additionally, they cannot climb trees. Cheetahs are predators and known to hunt antelope.
==Notable cheetahs==
* Azaad
* Fuli
==Appearances==
==References==
Category:Canon articles
Category:Species