Cheetah: (Acinonyx jubatus)
Page revised 12/26/2007
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The extremely rare king cheetah is an African cheetah exhibiting a noticeable deviation in its markings. African folklore had long described a giant cheetah that had a totally different coat pattern than normal cheetahs. Possible, but highly unlikely. The animal was regarded as a myth because it was seen so infrequently and between 1926 when it was first reported in Zimbabwe and 1975 when the first ever photograph was taken of one in the Kruger National Park there were only five reported sightings. Like most creatures described in folklore, the king cheetah was the object of much ridicule.
Even though skins with the king cheetah pattern were known to exist, there were no serious efforts to find out if it really existed until the first official sighting which occurred in Zimbabwe in 1926. This confirmed that there were indeed cheetahs that were bigger than the normal cheetah and a much different coat pattern.

During an expedition in 1975, Cryptozoologists Paul and Lena Bottriell photographed a king cheetah. There was another wild sighting in 1986. By 1987, thirty-eight specimens had been recorded. They have the same body structures as a normal cheetah, but the markings are bigger and all the spots are connected in a blotchy pattern.

The King Cheetah was once considered it own species, however its species status was resolved in May 1981, when two spotted sisters gave birth at the De Wildt Cheetah and Wildlife Centre in South Africa. Each litter contained one king cheetah. The sisters had both mated with a wild-caught male from the Transvaal area where king cheetahs had been recorded.

Today, scientists have been surprised by further discoveries. King cheetahs are not limited to a small area. They are actually found everywhere that cheetahs are found. This is because king cheetahs are genetic mutants, like color phases, not a separate species or subspecies.

A recessive gene must be inherited from both parents in order for this "blotchy" pattern to appear. This recessive gene, which was known as the "tabby gene," because the same gene in domestic cats controls the tabby markings on them. King cheetahs are the same species, and can interbreed with normal cheetahs and produce fertile young of both types. King cheetahs can also breed with each other and produce fertile young of both sexes. And king cheetahs can be born to a normal cheetah pair.

There are estimated to be less than ten king cheetah living in the wild and the total world population is between 25 and 60 animals. Most of the ones in captivity were bred at the De Wildt Cheetah Centre in South Africa which has been very successful in raising them.

The Miami Metro Zoo has a king cheetah named King George that serves as Goodwill Animal Ambassador. George is one of only five in the U.S. and only one of two that is in a hands-on-program.
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