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The cheetah is an enigma to the people in India and it is often confused with the leopard. Few know the difference between the two animals and fewer still know the life of the former. 

This work traces the cheetah from prehistoric times through history to its ultimate extinction in the Indian subcontinent in the 20th century and the cheetahs’ arrival from Africa in our effort to bring back a lost species. The author has painstakingly traced the animal in prehistoric cave paintings, in coins and in Sanskrit, classical Greek and Latin records, Persian, Urdu, Marathi and Hindi literature, lexicons, Indian paintings and photographs. The book also describes the centuries old practice of taming the cheetah and its sport of coursing antelope with it and it deals with related subjects of its status in Asia, the sub-species of Africa and Asia and the long journey of the animal’s reintroduction in its former homeland.

While the book is indispensable for scientists and field managers involved with the study of and conservation of the cheetah, it is written in an easy informative style and is of equal interest to any person concerned with the conservation of nature. It is the only comprehensive work ever written till date on the cheetah in Asia.