It has been kept in zoos since the early 19th century. It was tamed in ancient Egypt and trained for hunting ungulates in the Arabian Peninsula and India. It has been widely depicted in art, literature, advertising, and animation. In 2016, the global cheetah population was estimated at 7,100 individuals in the wild it is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. The cheetah is threatened by habitat loss, conflict with humans, poaching and high susceptibility to diseases. They are weaned at around four months and are independent by around 20 months of age. Cheetah cubs are highly vulnerable to predation by other large carnivores. After a gestation of nearly three months, females give birth to a litter of three or four cubs. 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 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 is active during the day, with peaks during dawn and dusk. 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 lives in three main social groups: females and their cubs, male 'coalitions', and solitary males.

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

The cheetah was first described in the late 18th century. It is the fastest land animal, capable of running at 80 to 98 km/h (50 to 61 mph) it has evolved specialized adaptations for speed, including a light build, long thin legs and a long tail. Adults weigh between 21 and 72 kg (46 and 159 lb). 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).

Its head is small and rounded, with a short snout and black tear-like facial streaks. The cheetah ( Acinonyx jubatus) is a large cat with a tawny to creamy white or pale buff fur that is marked with evenly spaced, solid black spots. Cynailurus soemmeringii Fitzinger, 1855.

Panther prowling black cheetah