Most of the times people desire to see a lion whenever they go on a jungle safari because lion is the king of the jungle and it has a majestic personality but today we are going to talk about another member of cat family which is not just ferocious by nature but looks beautiful as well.

We are talking about the King Cheetah, one of the most rare and most beautiful animals which is mainly found in Africa. A King Cheetah is a huge cat which has a creamy colored base fur and three black broad stripes which run down on its spine. The fur is usually thick and it has black spots on shoulder, sides and flanks and its belly is white.

If you think that King Cheetah is a species different from other cheetahs then you are wrong because they are born because of a genetic mutation that takes place due to a recessive gene. In simple words, if two normal cheetahs who have recessive gene mate and become parents of young ones then a quarter of the young ones will have the markings of King Cheetah but the other ones will be normal.

There is an old story in this regard which originated from Macheke district of Mashonaland, Ziмbabwe. A strange cat like wild animal was seen over there and it was named as Nsuifisi, the stories of Nsuifisi kept spreading all over the world for many years. One day a farmer bought the skin of Nsuifisi and donated it in a museum named as Salisbury Harare where it was kept in storage.

However, in 1926, Major A. C. Cooper decided to investigate the matter after he saw the skin and he informed every military personnel of the country about the skin. As a result, he got the photos of two cheetah skins possessed by southern chief of Bikita district. The research was carried out and the animal was named as Acinonyx rex aka King Cheetah and Zoological Society of London published this story in their journal.

However, it resulted in the killing of King Cheetah as people wanted the furry skin of this mighty animal and soon it was on the edge of extinction.

But the good thing is that things came in control after the rehabilitation program was started for King Cheetah and now their numbers are on an increase.

Isn’t it majestic, what do you say?

Article and Image Source: GoPlus News