International Cheetah Day
International Cheetah Day
Why in News?
- Recently, International Cheetah Day was celebrated on 4th December every year since 2010.
Highlights
- The cheetah is one of the oldest of the big cat species, with ancestors that can be traced back more than five million years to the Miocene era.
- The cheetah is also the world’s fastest land mammal that lives in Africa and Asia.
- A majority of the world’s 7,000 cheetahs live in South Africa, Namibia and Botswana.
- Namibia has the world’s largest population of cheetahs.
- The cheetah is the only large carnivore that got completely wiped out from India, mainly due to over-hunting and habitat loss.
- Eight Cheetahs have been recently reintroduced in India from Namibia to Kuno National Park.
- Dr. Laurie Marker designated the day as International Cheetah Day in remembrance of Khayam, a cheetah she raised from a cub at Wildlife Safari in Winston, Oregon.