King cheetahs are variety of cheetahs with a rare mutation caused by a recessive allele. Their cream-colored fur are marked with large, blotchy spots and three dark, wide stripes extend from the neck to the tail.

Image from preview.redd.it and submitted by skyfall91404
image showing King cheetahs are variety of cheetahs with a rare mutation caused by a recessive allele. Their cream-colored fur are marked with large, blotchy spots and three dark, wide stripes extend from the neck to the tail.

bed_doggo on April 29th, 2020 at 12:28 UTC »

Race stripes!

bennyboi423 on April 29th, 2020 at 12:47 UTC »

Adidas cheetah

NotQuiteNewt on April 29th, 2020 at 15:07 UTC »

Hi I love cheetahs, and so should you!

If anyone saw this picture and got curious, I have a small amount of experience that might help answer some questions that might arise in this thread:

Do King Cheetahs happen naturally?

Yes, though they are extremely rare in natural habitats and most photos are from captive-born cheetahs.

Is this a picture from a Tiger King situation?

No. Or, most likely no. Cheetahs are/were notoriously difficult to breed in captivity and lack the cultural/practical conditions that would lead to people privately owning a bunch of them, especially in America. Most demand for them is as individual pets on the black market, not as large scale operations- I'll get to this later.

So why is it on a leash?

For animals like lions or tigers, it's common to see pictures of somebody walking one on a leash. Most photos like this are from "pet-a-tiger" places, this is irresponsible and should not be done at reputable zoological facilities.

However, in the case of cheetahs specifically, this can actually be done quite safely and can be an effective part of responsible training for the benefit of the cheetah and the keepers. It has to be done correctly by trained zoological staff, but leash-training for cheetahs is not inherently bad, and often is quite good.

This picture looks like an ambassador cheetah demonstration, but even without public display, having them leash-trained is an effective strategy for increasing their overall quality of care just like it would be for leash-training your dog.

Do many people have pet cheetahs?

Very very very few people have "pet" cheetahs= unfortunately, there are also very, very, very few cheetahs left on the planet.

Right now, likely the number one threat to cheetahs is the illegal demand for them as private pets on the black market. This market is mostly fueled by a very tiny population of ultra-wealthy Middle Eastern individuals, particularly in Saudi Arabia, and forms a direct chain of poachers, smugglers, and middlemen. It is a very real problem.

Direct hunting used to be the number one threat by far, and it still does happen, but in the past 20 years such killings have drastically decreased thanks to community engagement and education programs.

How can I help cheetahs?

Glad you asked! It's impossible to sing enough praises to The Cheetah Conservation Fund- without their center in Namibia, cheetahs literally might be extinct in the wild right now, and their strategies are model examples of effective longterm conservation of carnivores.

You can help directly through their Amazon Wishlists or by sponsoring individual cheetahs.

If anyone wants to talk more about cheetahs, I visited the Cheetah Fund last year and did an internship as a cheetah keeper this past Winter. Both experiences were lifechanging and the more people are excited about cheetahs, the better!