bigcatkingdom:

Telling me where to go! (by Wild Images)

Hi! I ask that you please don’t glorify king cheetahs - at least include some information on the truth behind them when you post photographs. They are inbred and exploited, as are other big cat color morphs such as white or golden tabby tigers. Read my post here to learn more about them.

(This was also taken at the De Wildt cheetah centre which is known for purposely breeding tons of king cheetahs so…)

panthxra:

dannytiger:

jaguarssoul:

jaguarssoul:

tigerskinsandotherthings:

jaguarssoul:

ccaracal:

Does anyone know the source of this picture, what facility this is is at or if this cheetah is privately owned? My friend pointed out that this does look a lot like taxidermy, if so - I apologize. But just in case, please read my post on why you should not glorify king cheetahs. At least when reblogging this add some kind of note explaining that they are inbred and exploited.

there is no source in the op, altho the person who posted this does have something for pet cheetahs, so i wouldn’t be surprised if this were to be a privately owned cheetah as well. like

ccaracal

pointed out, king cheetahs should not be glorified, whether they’re someone’s “pet” or a mount or whatever. they’re inbred fucks, just like white tigers and white lions, and the survival of the species should come before any gross person’s aesthetic tastes. glorification is what makes people interested in these sick, conservationally useless felines- and not in a good way. it’s what inspires them to go see them irl: since no reputable zoo prioritizes the taste of the public these people always end up with visiting (supporting) problematic facilities that overbreeds/inbreeds/exploits/abuses their animals. fucking thank u for adding up to that :) really i know the sort of people who likes this shit and who have no trouble reblogging it and showing it to their mass followers. god knows we’re getting tired with ur lowsy #but white tigers are bad!!! tags, but u keep ur mouths shut with other issues entirely while knowing damn well about them, just because they’re not as well known. i’m not saying go about and run an animal welfare blog, all im saying is fucking keep ur hands away from a problematic post if ur not going to call it out decently- and tags don’t fucking count. and then u have the audacity to shit on millitant vegans/aras while ur no fucking better urselves LOL. #vague 👀💋

Here’s the source for the photo

The cheetah’s name is Kodi and he’s very much alive as there are multiple photos of him in different poses. Unfortunately the photographer doesn’t state what organization he is from, just that “he was brought in by people who are trying to help cats (big and small) from being endangered/extinct by education”

looks very much like it, just what they say about the better known places like t.i.g.e.r.s., tiger temple and all… the facility (if it is one) seem to have much direct contact with the animals in their care that they’re not supposed to be having direct contact with. could be like this one jaguar facility that i once came across with (whose name i’ve forgotten rn but)- they too have direct contact with the jags but they don’t breed them and rescue them from shitty places like circuses and give them much better homes (and don’t drug them and whatnot. plus, they’re young and Mexican (if I recall correctly) and the vibes that i got from them aren’t like the ones that i got from this (and the other pictures from the source) at all.

panthxra

showed me that facility in fact (maybe u know the name?), and i really don’t like it but if she says its ok then its ok (with the other factors keeping in mind). but i digress. all im saying is that direct contact is bad and that there are flaws in younger facilities but these pictures don’t send the same vibes. “helping big/lesser cats”? that’s what tiger temple says, too. the pictures are also taken in the Philippines… yea..

edit:

panthxra

some digging and here are the real source (well additional one at least):

http://www.cattell.net/devon/Leopards/Leopards.html

idk man but make of this as whatever u wanna.

Guys, I have a question about cheetahs in general; I read somewhere that cheetahs in general almost went extinct in an ice age so long ago and that there were so few of them that the only way to survive was inbreeding, and that today, cheetahs’ DNA is all practically identical.  Is this ture?  What is the basis of this notion?

Yes, that is true. The problem is, though, since they are already extremely inbred, it is essential that we try our best to not damage them any further by purposefully inbreeding for color mutations.

ccaracal

would you like to elaborate further?

dannytiger: Mhm, what you said is true. I have some more search to do to see if the idea that they are practically identical is true, but the species as a whole is inbred enough to cause health consequences, such as high juvenile mortality, difficulty with captive breeding, infertility, etc.

During the last ice age, a genetic bottleneck occurred where the population of cheetahs got very low, forcing them to inbreed. And that is why cheetahs today have low genetic variability, or in other terms, are inbred. 

So, as panthxra said, that’s why king cheetahs are especially bad to be breeding. I explain that further in this post.

Hope that explanation helps!

tigerskinsandotherthings:

jaguarssoul:

ccaracal:

Does anyone know the source of this picture, what facility this is is at or if this cheetah is privately owned? My friend pointed out that this does look a lot like taxidermy, if so - I apologize. But just in case, please read my post on why you should not glorify king cheetahs. At least when reblogging this add some kind of note explaining that they are inbred and exploited.

there is no source in the op, altho the person who posted this does have something for pet cheetahs, so i wouldn’t be surprised if this were to be a privately owned cheetah as well.like

ccaracal

pointed out, king cheetahs should not be glorified, whether they’re someone’s “pet” or a mount or whatever. they’re inbred fucks, just like white tigers and white lions, and the survival of the species should come before any gross person’s aesthetic tastes. glorification is what makes people interested in these sick, conservationally useless felines- and not in a good way. it’s what inspires them to go see them irl: since no reputable zoo prioritizes the taste of the public these people always end up with visiting (supporting) problematic facilities that overbreeds/inbreeds/exploits/abuses their animals.fucking thank u for adding up to that :) really i know the sort of people who likes this shit and who have no trouble reblogging it and showing it to their mass followers. god knows we’re getting tired with ur lowsy #but white tigers are bad!!! tags, but u keep ur mouths shut with other issues entirely while knowing damn well about them, just because they’re not as well known. i’m not saying go about and run an animal welfare blog, all im saying is fucking keep ur hands away from a problematic post if ur not going to call it out decently- and tags don’t fucking count.and then u have the audacity to shit on millitant vegans/aras while ur no fucking better urselves LOL. #vague 👀💋

Here’s the source for the photo

The cheetah’s name is Kodi and he’s very much alive as there are multiple photos of him in different poses. Unfortunately the photographer doesn’t state what organization he is from, just that “he was brought in by people who are trying to help cats (big and small) from being endangered/extinct by education”

Alright, we found the facility (thank you panthxra​!): Wild cat education and conservation fund. Apparently, they have “shows” where you pay and get to watch them walk wild cats around on leashes and stuff. Not just small wild cats, but large and dangerous ones like leopards, cougars, and snow leopards. Also, they offer “private events”, with - you guessed it - even more direct contact. And the icing on the cake… they bring these cats to schools as well.

No responsible facility would do these things.

This place is really sketchy, honestly. There are other ways to ‘educate’ people than this. Unnecessarily stressing the cats out and putting the people around them in dangerous situations. They’re wild animals. You never know when they’ll strike and injure or kill someone. 

And it goes without saying, this sends a terrible message to the public, the idea that big cats are just “big kitties” that can be tamed or domesticated. 

Lastly, how did they even get their king cheetah? They know the date he was born on, which means he was born in captivity, and all king cheetahs in captivity are inbred. Just like how white tigers are inbred. Bet they didn’t explain that while flaunting him around in front of people during 'private events’. 

Does anyone know the source of this picture, what facility this is is at or if this cheetah is privately owned? My friend pointed out that this does look a lot like taxidermy, if so - I apologize. But just in case, please read my post on why you should not glorify king cheetahs. At least when reblogging this add some kind of note explaining that they are inbred and exploited.

shogunofyellow:

The King Cheetah is a rare mutation of the cheetah characterized by a distinct fur pattern. It was first noted in what was then Southern Rhodesia (modern-day Zimbabwe) in 1926. Although strangely marked pelts had come from Africa, a live king cheetah was not photographed until 1974 in South Africa’s Kruger National Park. It has been known to exist in Zimbabwe, Botswana and in the northern part of South Africa’s Transvaal province. A recessive gene must be inherited from both parents for this pattern to appear, which is one reason why it is so rare.

While admiring the king cheetah’s unique pattern, we must also realize that humans exploit this - similar to how white tigers are exploited. King cheetahs infrequently occur in the wild, therefore they are inbred in captivity to produce more cheetahs with the same color mutation. This is a good graphic explaining the inbreeding behind color morphs (and yes, it’s about white lions - but the same method is used with king cheetahs). 

Now, this is especially dangerous for cheetahs. The species as a whole is already inbred and have unusually low genetic variability due to a genetic bottleneck during the last ice age. This causes infertility problems, making conservation efforts for cheetahs difficult. So, further inbreeding to produce king cheetahs could have devastating effects. 

With that, I ask you to please think twice before glorifying king cheetahs. 

bigcatkingdom:

(via King cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) Africa, Captive | Terry Whittaker Photography)