Large cats
And unfortunately, those are exactly the circumstances faced by cheetahs today. As a species, cheetahs have famously low levels of genetic variation. This can probably be attributed to a population bottleneck they experienced around 10,000 years ago, barely avoiding extinction at the end of the last ice age. In fact, the impact of multiple matings on genetic variation may help explain how the trait evolved in cheetahs in the first place. Biologists hypothesize that in an unpredictable environment, like the Serengeti, having variable offspring would have been advantageous to a female cheetah. Agility, rather than raw speed, accounts for much of the cheetah's ability to catch prey. Cheetahs can accelerate four times as fast as a human (thanks to greater muscle power) and can slow down by 14 kilometers per hour in one stride. The majority of cubs do not survive to adulthood, mainly as a result of depredation from other predators. The rate of cub mortality varies from area to area, from 50% to 75%, and in extreme cases such as the Serengeti ecosystem, up to 90%. Today, the Cheetah has been listed by the IUCN as a species that is Vulnerable from extinction in it's natural environment in the near future. Habitat loss along with the increase of natural parks that are home to a large number of competing predators has led to drastic declines in the world's Cheetah population. Cheetah Predators and Threats The adult Cheetah is a dominant predator in it's environment and is therefore not seen as prey (more as competition) by other large predators. In the wild, the cheetah is a prolific breeder, with up to nine cubs in a litter. The majority of cubs do not survive to adulthood, mainly as a result of depredation from other predators. The rate of cub mortality varies from area to area, from 50% to 75%, and in extreme cases such as the Serengeti ecosystem, up to 90%. Cheetah. Cheetah Classification and Evolution The Cheetah is a large and powerful feline that was once found throughout Africa and Asia and even in parts of Europe. Cheetah Predators and Threats The adult Cheetah is a dominant predator in it's environment and is therefore not seen as prey (more as competition) by other large predators. Because this new skull is more primitive than both cheetahs and Miracinonyx cats, and was found in China, it argues for a Eurasian/African ancestry of the entire group, with the Miracinonyx cats (or their ancestors) dispersing into the Americas later, Hunter said.  The 427 Cheetah Evolution... The 427 Cheetah Evolution started with an email from the client in Austin, TX. The conversation started with the usual remarks about remembering the car as a kid, or having a Cox or Aurora slotcar. As the communication unfolded, the project expanded from the simple Body-in-White package to having a completed car built Cheetahs evolved earlier than other large cats. One difference is that cheetahs evolved much earlier than other large cats, arising from a cat-like mammal that lived about 4 million years ago. As a result, their bodies are different from lions, tigers, and other great cats in many ways. The cheetah is the world’s fastest land animal. As the world’s fastest land animal, cheetahs are the odds-on favorite in almost any footrace. After all, they can accelerate to freeway speeds in just a step or two. The cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) is a big cat in the subfamily Felinae that inhabits most of Africa and parts of Iran. It is the only extant member of the genus Acinonyx. The cheetah can run as fast as 109.4 to 120.7 km/h (68.0 to 75.0 mph), faster than any other land animal. The majority of cubs do not survive to adulthood, mainly as a result of depredation from other predators. The rate of cub mortality varies from area to area, from 50% to 75%, and in extreme cases such as the Serengeti ecosystem, up to 90%.
http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/news/070701_cheetah https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheetah http://a-z-animals.com/animals/cheetah/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheetah http://a-z-animals.com/animals/cheetah/ http://www.livescience.com/5257-ancient-fossil-suggests-origin-cheetahs.html http://cheetahevolution.com/ http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/cheetahs-in-a-hot-spot-introduction/2074/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheetah
what did cheetahs evolve from