Cheetahs, as already noted, are distinctive cats, most notably in that they have been tamed (more or less) and trained as hunting animals. Ranging over Africa and much of Asia, cheetahs were long ago tamed in India.
Hunters would take them blindfolded to the hunting site and release them when the prey was sighted. Aside from the domestic cat and the caracal, the cheetah is the only cat to be truly tamed by man. Incidentally, cheetahs, since they are
spotted, were often referred to in the past as “hunting leopards,” and it was believed (wrongly) that they were hybrids of lions and leopards.
