4-4-2018 PHINDA FOREST LODGE, SOUTH AFRICA - SOUTHEAST AFRICAN CHEETAH (Acinonyx jubatus jubatus)

The Southeast African cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus jubatus) is the nominate cheetah subspecies native to East and Southern Africa. The Southern African cheetah lives mainly in the lowland areas and deserts of the Kalahari, the savannahs of Okavango Delta, and the grasslands of the Transvaal region in South Africa. In Namibia, cheetahs are mostly found in farmlands. In India, four cheetahs of the subspecies are living in Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh after having been introduced there.

From the early Pleistocene, the earliest African cheetah fossils have been found in the lower beds of the Olduvai Gorge site in northern Tanzania, although cheetah fossils in Southern Africa were found to be 3.5 to 3.0 million years old. The Southeast African cheetah is the second-oldest subspecies.

Cheetahs from Africa and Asia were previously considered as genetically identical with each other. DNA research and analysis started in the early 1990s and showed that the Southern and East African cheetahs are indeed separate subspecies.

The cheetah is a medium-sized cat. An adult male cheetah's total size can measure from 168 to 213 cm (66 to 84 in) and 162 to 200 cm (64 to 79 in) for females. Adult cheetahs are 70 to 90 cm (28 to 35 in) tall at the shoulder. Males are slightly taller than females and have slightly bigger heads with wider incisors and longer mandibles.

Measurements taken of wild cheetahs in Namibia indicate that the females range in head-and-body length from 113 to 140 cm (44 to 55 in) with 59.5 to 73.0 cm (23.4 to 28.7 in) long tails, and weigh between 21.0 and 63.0 kg (46.3 and 138.9 lb); males range in head-and-body length from 113 to 136 cm (44 to 54 in) with 60 to 84 cm (24 to 33 in) long tails, and weigh between 28.5 and 65.0 kg (62.8 and 143.3 lb).

The cheetah has a bright yellow or sometimes a golden coat, and its fur is slightly thicker than that of other subspecies. The white underside is very distinct, especially on the neck and breast, and it has less spotting on its belly. The spots on the face are more pronounced, and as a whole its spots seem more dense than those of most other subspecies. The tear marks are notably thicker at the corners of the mouth, and almost all of them have distinct brown mustache markings. Like the Asiatic cheetah, it is known to have fur behind its tail and have both white and black tips at the end of its tail. However, the cheetah may also have only a black tip at the end of its tail.

In desert areas, such as the Kalahari, cheetahs are somewhat smaller and lighter in weight, with thinner, bright-colored fur, a trait the Northwest African cheetah also has.

4-4-2018 PHINDA FOREST LODGE, SOUTH AFRICA - SOUTHEAST AFRICAN CHEETAH (Acinonyx jubatus jubatus)

The Southeast African cheetah was one of the most widespread animals. These two cheetahs were photographed at southwestern South Africa between 1906 and 1918.

The Southeast African cheetah usually lives on grasslands, savannahs, scrub forests, and arid environments such as deserts and semidesert steppes. These cheetahs can be found in open fields, where they chase and hunt herbivorous mammals such as antelopes at a very high speed. In South Africa, the cheetah also prefers woodlands (in Kruger National Park), shrublands, high mountains, mountainous grasslands, and montane areas where favorable prey are mostly available.

The Southeast African cheetah is currently the most common subspecies and was widespread everywhere in southern to central Africa, ranging from South Africa to the southern Democratic Republic of the Congo (Katanga Province) and southern Tanzania. Its range is now greatly reduced, where it occurs in an area of 1,223,388 km2 (472,353 sq mi), 22% of its original range.

In the past, less than 10,000 cheetahs were hunted in Namibian farmlands. Previously estimated at mere 2,000 individuals since the 1990s, as of 2015, over 3,500 cheetahs live in Namibia today. The country maintains the largest population of wild cheetahs worldwide. About 90–95% of the cheetahs live on Namibian farmlands; others live in the Kalahari Basin, the coastal deserts of Namib and Kaokoveld, and the central to northeastern region of the country. Although Namibian cheetahs are mostly found outside of protected areas, they also live in Naankuse Wildlife Sanctuary, Namib-Naukluft National Park, and Bwabwata National Park. The cheetahs are rather uncommon in Etosha National Park and in Palmwag.

With an approximate population of 2,000 cheetahs as of 2016, Botswana has the second-largest population of cheetahs. They are mostly found in arid habitats of the Central Kalahari, Mokolodi Nature Reserve, and Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park (known as Gemsbok National Park in Botswana) in the south, and in the southwest and also in the northern region of the country that holds the largest prey base, such as in Okavango Delta, Chobe National Park, and Moremi Game Reserve. Khutse Game Reserve is also known to contain high abundance of suitable prey base for cheetahs, such as springboks, gemsboks, and wildebeests. Cheetahs are rarely found in the eastern Botswana and at the Zimbabwean border.

In South Africa, cheetahs live in the Limpopo, Mpumalanga, North West, and Northern Cape Provinces. After conservation efforts throughout the years, cheetahs have been reintroduced in the eastern, western, and southern parts, and recently in the Free State province of the country. Over 90% of the cheetah population is found outside protected areas such as game reserves and in farmlands. More than 412 cheetahs are in Kruger National Park, subpopulations of 300 to 350 in parks and reserves, and 400 to 500 free-roaming on farmlands in the Limpopo and North West Province, although the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park is the stronghold for cheetahs. Kruger and Kalahari Gemsbok National Parks hold the largest populations; they are home to roughly 42% of South Africa's cheetahs. Cheetahs had not always been common in South Africa. As of now, the country contains the third-largest population of cheetahs after years of conservation actions and reintroductions into the wild. In 2016, it is estimated about 1,500 adult cheetahs live in the wild.

The population of cheetahs has been dramatically decreased in Zimbabwe, from about a thousand to 400, as of 2007. Currently, the Zimbabwean population is estimated at 165 individuals. Prior the population decline, cheetahs were more widespread in Zimbabwe, and its population had excellent growth rate, in which over 1,500 individuals thrived. Back in 1973, an estimated 400 cheetahs lived in Zimbabwe and had increased to 470 in 1987. Afterwards in 1991, a total population of 1,391 cheetahs was found by the Zimbabwe Department of Parks and Wildlife Management, whilst in 1996, a population of 728 cheetahs lived on commercial farmlands alone. In 1999, a minimum total population of 1,520 was estimated, in which over 1,200 of these cheetahs lived on commercial farmlands, while 320 were found in national parks. A year later, several reports questioned whether the Zimbabwean cheetahs were stable or decreasing, but it was increasing at the time. However, cheetahs are known to be highly threatened in farmlands in which between 1999 and 2007, 80% of the population of Zimbabwean cheetahs living in private farmlands fell into massive decline due to human-cheetah conflict, reduced from over a thousand to less than 400 as of 2007. About 100 cheetahs were killed by livestock farmers in Zimbabwe's lowveld per year. Following years later, about 150 to 170 adult cheetahs are found there, and the human-cheetah conflict is no longer a major threat to the species. Most of the Zimbabwean cheetahs live in protected areas today. Cheetahs are mainly found in the southern to central regions. Isolated populations are found in northwestern Zimbabwe, such as Victoria Falls, Matetsi, and Kazuma Pan, also near the Mozambican border. Hwange National Park, the largest reserve with an area of 14,650 km2 (5,660 sq mi), is the main stronghold for the Zimbabwean cheetahs. Cheetahs also live in Matobo National Park. The cheetahs of the Zambezi Valley are nearly extinct, as only three individuals remain in Matusadona National Park and 9 in the Mana Pools National Park. Twenty-nine remain in the Zimbabwean lowveld, most of which live in Gonarezhou National Park, private reserves (Bubye, Save, Malilangwe, Nuanetsi), and at the Chilojo Cliffs.

20-4-2018 OKAVANGO DELTA, BOTSWANA - SOUTHEAST AFRICAN CHEETAH (Acinonyx jubatus jubatus)

The Southeast African cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus jubatus) is the nominate cheetah subspecies native to East and Southern Africa. The Southern African cheetah lives mainly in the lowland areas and deserts of the Kalahari, the savannahs of Okavango Delta, and the grasslands of the Transvaal region in South Africa. In Namibia, cheetahs are mostly found in farmlands. In India, four cheetahs of the subspecies are living in Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh after having been introduced there.

The cheetah is a carnivorous mammal. It preys on medium-sized and large antelopes, and fast, small animals including Cape hares and rodents. It prefers Thomson's gazelle, impala, kudu, puku, oribi, springbok, gemsbok, steenbok, wildebeest, warthog, red hartebeest, nyala and other ungulates.

10-11-1993 MASAI MARA, KENYA - SOUTHEAST AFRICAN CHEETAH (Acinonyx jubatus jubatus)

The cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) is a large cat and the fastest land animal. It has a tawny to creamy white or pale buff fur that is marked with evenly spaced, solid black spots. The head is small and rounded, with a short snout and black tear-like facial streaks. It reaches 67–94 cm (26–37 in) at the shoulder, and the head-and-body length is between 1.1 and 1.5 m (3 ft 7 in and 4 ft 11 in). Adults weigh between 21 and 65 kg (46 and 143 lb). The cheetah is capable of running at 93 to 104 km/h (58 to 65 mph); it has evolved specialized adaptations for speed, including a light build, long thin legs and a long tail.

The cheetah was first scientifically described in the late 18th century. Four subspecies are recognised today that are native to Africa and central Iran. An African subspecies was introduced to India in 2022. It is now distributed mainly in small, fragmented populations in northwestern, eastern and southern Africa and central Iran. It lives in a variety of habitats such as savannahs in the Serengeti, arid mountain ranges in the Sahara, and hilly desert terrain.

The cheetah lives in three main social groups: females and their cubs, male "coalitions", and solitary males. While females lead a nomadic life searching for prey in large home ranges, males are more sedentary and instead establish much smaller territories in areas with plentiful prey and access to females. The cheetah is active during the day, with peaks during dawn and dusk. It feeds on small- to medium-sized prey, mostly weighing under 40 kg (88 lb), and prefers medium-sized ungulates such as impala, springbok and Thomson's gazelles. The cheetah typically stalks its prey within 60–100 m (200–330 ft) before charging towards it, trips it during the chase and bites its throat to suffocate it to death. It breeds throughout the year. After a gestation of nearly three months, females give birth to a litter of three or four cubs. Cheetah cubs are highly vulnerable to predation by other large carnivores. They are weaned at around four months and are independent by around 20 months of age.

The cheetah is threatened by habitat loss, conflict with humans, poaching and high susceptibility to diseases. The global cheetah population was estimated at 6,517 individuals in 2021; it is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. It has been widely depicted in art, literature, advertising, and animation. It was tamed in ancient Egypt and trained for hunting ungulates in the Arabian Peninsula and India. It has been kept in zoos since the early 19th century.