[OT] Cheetah naming

[Frank Warmerdam]

On 11/29/05, Attila Csipa <plists at prometheus.org.yu> wrote:
> 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).

Attila,

The name isn't written in stone.  But I'm not sure I want to
work on "MapServer Cockroach" just because it is the hardiest
species in the Wikipedia.

Best regards,
--
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