The Lawrence Hall of Science

The public science center of the University of California, Berkeley.

Home // Celebrating Nature's Diversity //

Acinonyx jubatus

Cheetah

Where do they live? Africa and central Iran

What do they eat? Small to medium-sized prey such as impala, springbok, and Thomson’s gazelles

Conservation Status: Vulnerable 

See more photos of this animal 

Learn more about the Photo Ark

A federally endangered cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) at the Denver Zoo. This species is listed as vulnerable by IUCN.

@Photo by Joel Sartore/National Geographic Photo Ark

More from Celebrating Nature’s Diversity

A North American mountain lion (Puma concolor couguar), at the Rolling Hills Wildlife Adventure.
Monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) from the Sierra Chincua mountain range, Mexico.
An endangered Malayan tiger (Panthera tigris jacksoni) at Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium.
A lilac-breasted roller, Coracias caudatus, at the Omaha Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium.
South Georgia king penguins (Aptenodytes patagonicus patagonicus) at the Indianapolis Zoo.
An endangered, juvenile silvery gibbon (Hylobates moloch) at Bali Safari.
Japanese sea nettle (Chrysaora pacifica) at Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, CA.
A grizzly bear (Ursus arctos horribilis) at the Sedgwick County Zoo.
A gray wolf (Canis lupus) at the Alaska Zoo.
Mei Lun and Mei Huan, the twin giant panda cubs (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) at Zoo Atlanta.
Three Eastern Grass Owls (Tyto longimembris chinensis) at Angkor Centre for Conservation of Biodiversity (ACCB) in Cambodia.
A portrait of a federally endangered peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus) at Raptor Recovery in Nebraska.
A platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus) at the Healesville Wildlife Sanctuary in Melbourne, Australia.
A red octopus (Octopus rubescens) at Aquarium of the Pacific.
A federally endangered cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) at the Denver Zoo. This species is listed as vulnerable by IUCN.
A critically endangered (IUCN) and federally endangered California condor (Gymnogyps californianus) at the Phoenix Zoo.
A red-eyed tree frog (Agalychnis callidryas), at the Sunset Zoo in Manhattan, KS.
An endangered (IUCN) and federally endangered snow leopard (Panthera uncia) at the Denver Zoo.
Sura, a spotted seal (Phoca largha) at the Alaska SeaLife Center.
Federally threatened spectacled eiders (Somateria fischeri) at the Alaska SeaLife Center. The male is white with green in the head; the female is brown. This bird has been in decline since the 1980's, attributed most likely to climate change and lead shot in their environment.
Thompson's giraffes (Giraffa camelopardalis) at the Rolling Hills zoo.
A veiled chameleon (Chamaeleo calyptratus) at the Rolling Hills Zoo.
A Barbary lion (Panthera leo leo) at the Plzen Zoo in the Czech Republic.
A bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) at Loro Parque in Puerto de la Cruz, Tenerife, Spain.
An Arctic fox, Vulpes lagopus, at the Great Bend Brit Spaugh Zoo in Great Bend, Kansas.
Endangered African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus) at the Omaha Henry Doorly Zoo.
A female African elephant (Loxodonta africana) at the Cheyenne mountain Zoo.
American flamingos (Phoenicopterus ruber) at the Lincoln Children's Zoo.
An American barn owl (Tyto alba pranticola) at the Raptor Recovery Center, Nebraska.
Sara, the endangered (IUCN) and federally endangered whooping crane (Grus americana), at the Audubon Center for Research of Endangered Species. This is an educational bird.
A juvenile and mother white bellied tree pangolin (Phataginus tricuspis) at the Pangolin Conservation in St. Augustine, FL. This juvenile is only 70 days old. She is the first of her species to be bred in captivity.
A Western grey kangaroo (Macropus fuliginosus melanops) at the Gladys Porter Zoo.
A Southern copperhead (Agkistrodon contortrix contortrix) at the Houston Zoo.
A single wattled cassowary (Casuarius unappendiculatus unappendiculatus) at Avilon Zoo.
Pronghorn antelope (Antilocapra americana americana) at the Great Plains Zoo.
Angular wing katydids (Microcentrum sp) at the Insectarium in New Orleans. These color varients are found in nature, though anything but green is usally eaten by predators immediately.
Mexican red-legged tarantula (Brachypelma emilia) at Zoo Budapest.
A long-haired rousette bat (Rousettus lanosus) at the Lincoln Children's Zoo.
Augustine, a mother koala with her young ones Gus and Rupert (one is adopted and one is her own offspring) at the Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital.
A Kangaroo Island echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus multiaculeatus) at the LA Zoo.
A juvenile common wombat (Vombatus ursinus tasmaniensis) at the Healesville Sanctuary. This is a ten-month-old named 'Poa.'
A critically endangered and federally endangered, six-week-old female baby gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) at the Cincinnati Zoo.
A birdwing butterfly (Ornithoptera priamus) at the butterfly garden at the Omaha Henry Doorly Zoo.
A Goldie’s lorikeet (Psitteuteles goldiei) at the Columbus Zoo.
A female American bison (Bison bison) named Mary Ann at the Oklahoma City Zoo.
A critically endangered female eastern black rhino (Diceros bicornis michaeli) named Imara at the Great Plains Zoo.
Coyote puppies (Canis latrans) at the Nebraska Wildlife Rehab.
A clown triggerfish (Balistoides conspicillum) at Pure Aquariums.
An endangered baby Bornean orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus) named Aurora, with her adoptive mother, Cheyenne, a Bornean/Sumatran cross (Pongo pygmaeus x abelii) at the Houston Zoo.
A bald eagle named Bensar at the George M. Sutton Avian Research Center.
More Animals