KING CHEETAH (Acinonyx jubatus) ©Cheetah Princess
The king cheetah is a rare mutation of cheetah characterized by a distinct fur pattern. It was first noted in what was then Southern Rhodesia (modern-day Zimbabwe) in 1926. In 1927, the naturalist Reginald Innes Pocock declared it a separate species, but reversed this decision in 1939 due to lack of evidence.
In 1928, a skin purchased by Walter Rothschild was found to be intermediate in pattern between the king cheetah and the standard spotted cheetah.
Twenty-two such skins were collected between 1926 and 1974 and the king cheetah was reported five more times in the wild. Although strangely marked skins had come from Africa, a live king cheetah was not photographed until 1974 (in South Africa’s Kruger National Park) by Cryptozoologists Paul and Lena Bottriell. They also managed to obtain stuffed specimens. The King Cheetah appeared larger than a spotted cheetah and its fur had a different texture.
Its species status was resolved in 1981 when king cheetahs were born at the De Wildt Cheetah and Wildlife Centre in South Africa. In May, two spotted sisters gave birth there and 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). Further king cheetahs were later born at the Centre. A recessive gene must be inherited from both parents for this pattern to appear, which is one reason why it is so rare.
FACT SOURCE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheetah
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