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Cheetahs are very interesting animals, from hunting styles to just the color variations of their spots! A cheetah’s spots can be morphed, a rare but possible phenomenon.
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The king cheetah, first noted in Zimbabwe in 1926, is a rare mutation recognized by its distinct pelt pattern. In 1927, naturalist Reginald Innes Pocock declared the king cheetah a separate species. But due to the lack of evidence, the decision was reversed in 1939.
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Yet in 1928, Walter Rothschild had purchased a cheetah skin that had an intermediate pattern between the spotted cheetah and the king cheetah. Abel Chapman considered this to be a color form of the spotted cheetah. Though these incredible mutations are possible, the genes for it to occur must come from both parents. Hence, mutations are very rare.