The cheetah and racing greyhound are of a similar size and gross morphology and yet the cheetah is able to achieve a far higher top speed. We compared the kinematics and kinetics of galloping in the cheetah and greyhound to investigate how the cheetah can attain such remarkable maximum speeds. This also presented an opportunity to investigate some of the potential limits to maximum running spee...

An extensive genetic and physiological analysis of the cheetah by O'Brien et al. (1983; 1985; 1987) indicated that the cheetah showed monomorphism at the major histocompatability complex. This led O'Brien (1985) to propose that the cheetah suffered from an immunodeficiency and was highly susceptible to diseases. It was therefore decided to investigate cell-mediated and humoral immune responses ...

A cheetah model is built to mimic real cheetah and its mechanical and dimensional parameters are derived from the real cheetah. In particular, two joints in spine and four joints in a leg are used to realize the motion of segmented spine and segmented legs which are the key properties of the cheetah bounding. For actuating and stabilizing the bounding gait of cheetah, we present a bioinspired c...

Camera trapping studies have become increasingly popular to produce population estimates of individually recognisable mammals. Yet, monitoring techniques for rare species which occur at extremely low densities are lacking. Additionally, species which have unpredictable movements may make obtaining reliable population estimates challenging due to low detectability. Our study explores the effecti...

Both the behavioural and the morphological analyses confirm the special role of the dewclaw in the cheetah: a strong hook to stop running animals by using the energy of the victim itself. However, this would hardly be an explanation for the rather large dewclaw in the puma. The present finding of the puma as an intermediate between the cheetah and other large felids for dewclaw size, supports t...

Prey availability and human-carnivore conflict are strong determinants that govern the spatial distribution and abundance of large carnivore species and determine the suitability of areas for their conservation. For wide-ranging large carnivores such as cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) suitable conservation areas beyond protected area boundaries are crucial to effectively conserve them both inside a...

BACKGROUND Current malaria treatment is either "anti-parasitic", "anti-infectivity" or both without addressing the pathophysiological derangement (anti-disease aspect) associated with the disease. Asiatic acid is a natural phytochemical with oxidant, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties whose effect on malarial and accompanying pathophysiology are yet to be investigated. Asiatic acid in...

The cheetah Acinonyx jubatus is the most cursorial felid and has been described as somewhat dog-like in both the shape and the diminished degree of retraction of the claws. In this study we evaluate and investigate the osteological correlates associated with claw retraction in the cheetah through a comparison of the morphology of its middle phalanges with those of other felids and of the wolf C...