CHEETAH, or Hunting Leopard(Guepαrda jubata), a Carnivorous Mammal belonging to the family Felidoe, but exhibiting in form and habits such a mixture of feline and canine characteristics as have led naturalists to regard it as a transition form between the cat and dog groups. Unlike the typical Felidoe, its head is short and round, its legs elongate and slender, and the flesh tooth of the upper jaw thin and longitudinally compressed. Its claws, being only partially retractile, get blunted by exposure to the surface of the ground, and so are less adapted to the purely feline mode of capturing prey. The cheetah attains a length of 3 to 4 feet, is of a pale fulvous colour, marked with numerous spots of a deep black on the upper surface and sides, and is nearly white beneath. The fur is somewhat crisp, altogether lacking the sleekness which characterizes the fur of the typical cats. Its tail is long and somewhat bushy at the extremity. In confinement it soon becomes fond of those who are kind to it, and gives evidence of its attachment in an open, dog-like manner. According to Mr Bennet (Tower Menageries) “the character of the cheetah seems to be entirely free from that sly and suspicious feeling of mistrust which is so strikingly visible iħ the manner and actions of all the cats, and which renders them so little susceptible of real or lasting attachment;” and it is the opinion of the same writer that the cheetah might be thoroughly domesticated and “rendered nearly as familiar and faithful as the dog himself.” The cheetah is found throughout Africa and Southern Asia, and has been employed for centuries in India and Persia in hunting antelopes and other ruminant game. According to Sir W. Jones, this mode of hunting originated with Hushing, king of Persia, 865 B.C., ...