[OT] Cheetah naming

[Attila Csipa]

On Wednesday 30 November 2005 00:14, Fawcett, David wrote:
> product has been given a modifier of 'Cheetah'.

One more thing on the Cheetah (as in big cat) issue. I'm aware that the 
instant association with this species is 'fastest predator on land', but if 
one scratches a bit deeper it turns out that this title comes with quite a 
price. A bit of trivia (from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheetah) regarding 
cheetahs (with the risk of being partial for pasting here only what I thought 
would be contradictory to some of Mapservers' characteristics):

- The cheetah is a vulnerable species. Out of all the big cats, it is the 
least able to adapt to new environments.

- A cheetah can run up to 114 km/h for up to about 274 metres before it 
overheats. The temperature within the cheetah reaches such high temperatures 
that it would be deadly to continue, also why cheetahs are often seen resting 
even after they have caught their prey. Roughly half of the chases are 
successful.

- Cheetahs are not true big cats, as they can purr as they inhale, but cannot 
roar. By contrast, lions, tigers, leopards, and jaguars can roar but cannot 
purr, except while exhaling.

- Today, cheetahs have a growing economic importance for ecotourism and they 
are also found in zoos. Because cheetahs are far less aggressive than other 
big cats, kittens are sometimes sold as pets.

- Cheetah cubs have a high mortality rate due to genetic factors and predation 
by carnivores in competition with the cheetah, such as the lion and hyena. 
Some biologists now believe that they are too inbred to flourish as a 
species. 

- Cheetahs are included on the IUCN list: vulnerable species (African 
subspecies threatened, Asiatic subspecies in critical situation) as well as 
on the US ESA: threatened species - Appendix I of CITES (Convention on 
International Trade in Endangered Species).