AnimalsThe cheetah is the fastest land animal over short distances. It has a slim body, long legs and black "tear lines" running from its eyes to its mouth. Unlike most cats it hunts by day and cannot fully pull in its claws, which grip the ground like running spikes. Cheetahs died out in India in the last century; animals brought from Africa have been released in Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh since 2022.
Quick facts
- Scientific name
- Acinonyx jubatus
- Group
- Mammals
- Diet
- Carnivore (eats other animals)
- Lives in
- Africa and a small part of Iran
- Habitat
- Open grassland and savanna
- A young one is called
- cub
- A group is called
- coalition
- Conservation status
- Vulnerable
How it is classified
Scientists sort living things into groups within groups. Reading down, each step is a smaller group, ending with the species itself.
- Kingdom Animalia
- Phylum Chordata
- Class Mammalia
- Order Carnivora
- Family Felidae
- Genus Acinonyx
- Species Acinonyx jubatus
Other members of the family Felidae on this site: domestic cat, jaguar, leopard, lion, snow leopard, tiger.
More distant relatives in the order Carnivora: brown bear, dog, giant panda, polar bear, red fox, red panda, sloth bear, spotted hyena, walrus, wolf.
Classification follows the GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. Other reference works arrange some groups differently. How classification works.
Is it in danger?
The cheetah is listed as Vulnerable. The species faces a high risk of extinction in the wild.
This is the IUCN Red List category as recorded in Wikidata on 11 November 2026. The IUCN Red List itself is the authority and may carry a newer assessment. What the categories mean.