Jul 21, 2025
🤔Cheetahs don’t have stripes… or do they?
👑Meet the “king cheetah” (Acinonyx jubatus)—note the pattern on its back. When scientists first observed this animal in 1926, it was thought to be a new species. Today, we know that “king cheetahs” are the same species as spotted cheetahs, and their unusual patterning is actually the result of a genetic mutation. These individuals are rare: Only a handful of striped cheetahs have ever been seen in the wild.
Photo: Steve Jurvetson, CC BY 2.0, flickr
