Zoogeographic Regions Popita & Kids Inc.

Zoogeography is the branch of the science of biogeography that is concerned with the geographic distribution (present and past) of species. In addition to mapping the present distribution of species, zoogeographers formulate theories to explain the distribution, based on information about geography, physiography, climate, and geologic history, as well as knowledge of the evolutionary history and relationships of the involved.

Each region more or less coincides with a major continental land mass, separated from other regions by oceans, mountain ranges, or deserts. They are as follows: 1. Palearctic (PA) Europe, North Africa (to Sahara), Asia (except India, Pakistan and SE Asia) and Middle East. 2. Nearctic (NA) Canada, USA, Mexico to tropics. Holarctic is Palearctic plus Nearctic 3. Neotropical (NT) Tropical Mexico south to South America, plus the Antilles. 4. Afrotropic (AF) or Ethiopian (ET) Madagascar, Africa south of the Sahara, southern Arabian Peninsula. 5. Indo-Malayan (IM) or Oriental (OR) Pakistan, India, Southeast Asia, Philippines, Indonesia west of Wallace's line (Sumatra, Java, Borneo). 6. Australian (AU) Australia, New Guinea, Tasmania, Indonesian Islands east of Wallace's line (Sulawesi, Timor, etc.) NOTE: does not include New Zealand. 7. Oceanic Oceans of the world and isolated, small islands.

WHAT DO ? …The TASK Name of Animal ______1. Record the GEOGRAPIC Range/Distribution of your assigned species: a. Continent – ______b. Country – ______c. Topographic Region (✓): mountain___, savanna___, jungle___, desert___ steppe___, valley___, plateau___, plain___, highland___, forest___, island___ delta___, coast___, rift___, basin___, rainforest___ grassland___. taiga___

2. Log in the type of CLIMATE ZONE where the animals lives originally (✓): Tropical: wet/humid___, dry___; Subtropical___, Dry: arid ___, semiarid___, Boreal___ Mediterranean___, ___, Polar/Tundra___, Coastal___, Continental___, Arctic___, Temperate___,

3. Categorize the animal according to the 7 “Zoogeographic” Regions – see above: ______GEOGRAPHY – Research Questions ZOO Project

A MUST HAVE for ALL GROUPS

You’ll need to have a MAP showing the GEOGRAPHIC RANGE (distribution) of the animal species you received for research. Go to “RED LIST” site = http://www.iucnredlist.org/

Follow these steps:

1.Type in the ‘scientific’ (latin) term in the search term box. A new window will open.

2. Click on the scientific link in italic, red, bold writing. It will get you to a ‘SUMMARY’ page.

3. Use the ‘VIEW MAP’ link on the top left corner. Click to open. Make sure that the ‘CHANGE BASEMAP’ is in ‘IMAGERY’ mode (satellite).

4. Click, hold and move map around to center it with the highlighted area showing. Also, use the + and – scale to enlarge the map.

5. Take a SCREENSHOT of the map at its best (command/shift/4).

6. Open a word processing document (Word, Pages). Title it “GEOGRAPHIC RANGE”. Write the name of the animal and its scientific term.

7. Take the screenshot image, copy/paste it onto the page. Resize until you enlarge it to fit the page. Save. Print…in color.

8. Read, edit & compile the data needed on a separate page.

7. Provide a compelling summary of the area that the animal is restricted to or best associated with. Make sure you include the Continent, Country, Vegetation zone /Habitat, Topographic region, Climate zone, Zoogeographic range.

9. Use the data you collected from the enclosure display board, at the zoo. Text- wrap a couple of pictures. Save. Print…in color.

HISTORY – Research Q. – ZOO Project

Use the DATA compiled by Mrs. Popa. See pgs. 6-14 of this document: “History of Zoo Menageries” Each group will have 1 Fact to present … as follows:

1. Scalater’s Blue-eyed Lemur - Where were the first Zoos recorded? (civilization, location, era) = all data.

2. Siamang - Discuss the Zoo Menageries in Egypt: King Ptolemy, Queen Hatshepsut.

3. Sichuan - Discuss the Zoo Menageries in Egypt: King Thitmoses III, King Akhenaten.

4. Snow Leopard - Were Exotic Animals subject of ancient TRIBUTE ?! Explain.

5. Spekes - Record of animal endangerment in Ancient Rome. Explain in detail.

6. Sumatran Tiger - Was the Elephant a symbol of “Power” in Rome? Explain.

7. Southern Double-Wattled Cassowary - Records of Zoo Menageries in Ancient Greece…

8. Tadjik Markhor - Ancient records of Zoo Menageries in the Middle East (Babylon/Israel)…

9. Visayan Warty - … Ancient records of Zoo Menageries in Meso-America (Aztecs)

10. Western Lowland Gorilla - Records of Zoo Menageries in ancient Rome…

11. African Wild Dog - Ancient records of Zoo Menageries in Europe…

12.Aldabra Giant Tortoise - Ancient records of Zoo Menageries in the Far East – China/Asia…

13. Asian Elephant - The ancient civilizations of Africa, China & India revered the Elephant. What did this animal symbolize for them? Explain.

14. Black-handed Spider Monkey - Discuss the case of ‘Incitatus” – the most famous horse in all Rome…

15. Buff-cheeked Gibbon - Records of Zoo Menageries in England … Queen Elizabeth I. 16. Mandril - Records of Zoo Menageries in France … Louis XIV.

17. Chacoan Giant - Medieval records of Zoo Menageries in Germany … Emperor Charlemagne.

18. Chimpanzee - Discuss archaeological proof of Zoo Menageries in Egypt: burials

19. Chinese Giant Salamander - Discuss archaeological proof of Zoo Menageries in Egypt: murals.

20. Chinese Water - Discuss how the was used for domestic work or trade in Africa.

21. Congo Peafowl - Discuss how the camel was used for domestic work and warfare in Arabia.

22. Lowland Anoa - Did the ancient /medieval civilizations of Africa keep Zoos? Why? Discuss the Purpose. See the underlined statements in the “History of Zoo Menageries”.

23. Madagascar Radiated Tortoise - What is a ’menagerie’ ? Explain.

24. Mountain Bongo - Explain how the Elephant was used as a war weapon, also called ‘elephantry’.

25. Mountain Tapir - Record of animal endangerment in Medieval India. Explain in detail.

26. Nubian Ibex - Discuss the role of the Cheetah in Africa & India: hunting and criminal punishment.

For the rest of the questions, use the following site in regard to HISTORY OF THE DOMESTICATION OF ANIMALS, http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/plaintexthistories.asp?h istoryid=ab57 as follows:

27. Orangutan - Dogs: from 12,000 years ago

28. Burmese Star Tortoise- Sheep and goats, cattle and : 9000-7000 BC

29. Peninsular - Draught animals: from 4000 BC

30. Red-Knobbed Hornbill - Cats: from before 3000 BC

31. Roti Island Snaked-Necked Turtle - Horses: 3000 BC

32. Sarus Crane - Asses (donkeys): 3000 BC

33. Francois’s Langur - Silk moths: 3000 BC

34. Giant Otter - : 3000-1500 BC

35. Gray’s Monitor - Poultry and pigeons: 2000 BC

36. Grevy’s Zebra - Elephants: 2000 BC

37. Indian Rhinoceros - The honey of the bee: before the 6th century BC

38. False Gharial - Rabbits: from the 1st century BC

39. East African Crowned Crane - The turkey: from the 14th century

40. Crested Capuchin Monkey - The bee space: 1851

41. Cotton-headed Tamarin - The ostrich: 19th - 20th century

42. Coquerelle’s Sifaka - The hamster: 1930

What do for the HISTORY part?

1. Open a word processing document (Word, Pages). 2. Title it with the theme you received for History – Ex:- “Record of animal endangerment in Ancient Rome” or “Records of ZOO Menageries in ancient Egypt”. 3. Read, edit and process the data. Type. 4. Find a pertinent picture. Text-wrap it. 5. Save. Print.

The HISTORY OF the ZOO KEEPING and ANIMAL MENAGERIES

The First Zoos The Egyptian capital of Hierakonpolis, on the Nile south of Luxor, was settled by 4000 BC., and it was Egypt’s largest urban center. Data points to the existence of a large, exotic pre-dynastic zoo around 3500 BC. The earliest collection of animals, though not a public zoo, was established by Shulgi, ruler of Ur (now Southeast Iraq), around 2400 B.C. Elephants were domesticated and used for work in India’s Mohenjo-Daro civilization as early as 2,500 B.C.

Egypt Alexandria, in ancient Egypt, became not only the world’s greatest center of learning, but also was the site of the greatest zoo of its time. King Ptolemy II later made it a wonder of the world and as early as 285 B.C., he staged an animal procession during the Feast of Dionysus that, according to records, took all day to pass the city stadium in Alexandria. Queen Hatshepsut was known to have kept baboons and other animals imported from the land of Punt (somewhere in the Horn of Africa) during expeditions and trade exchanges. In her time, around 1508 BC, the royal zoo most likely included rhinos, giraffes, leopards, monkeys and more familiar species like cattle and hounds. Many of these animals were prized pets for the elite members of the royal family. In his Upper Egyptian menagerie two hundred years or so later, her successor, Thutmose III, had a botanical garden engraved in the Festival Temple at Karnak, teeming with deer, birds and domesticated livestock and animals and plants brought back to Egypt from Syria. He also kept fowl that [lay eggs] daily, possibly chickens imported from Mesopotamia. In his Upper Egyptian menagerie Akhenaten kept lions in domed buildings, antelopes in pens and cattle in an enclosure made of sticks and branches. There was also a pond, probably stocked with fish and water fowl. At the centre of the installation was a small palace with a window of appearances: courtiers and other mortals seem therefore to have had access to the grounds.

Exotic Animal – subject of ancient TRIBUTE ?! Exotic animals, bears, chickens, rhinos, elephants, giraffes, ostriches - some of which had been indigenous to the country in earlier times - were brought to Egypt by official trading expeditions or as part of the tribute which Nubia and other parts of the empire had to pay their overlord. The fate of these tributes is unknown: they may have been sacrificed to the gods or kept for the delectation of the pharaohs and their families. Bears seem to have attracted mankind since earliest times. Herodotus reports that they are scarce in Egypt. Records exist proving that they were occasionally imported and, more often, obtained as pay off or tribute. Under Sahure (5th dynasty) Syrian bears were brought to Egypt. These relatively docile bears were kept on leashes. According to Athenaios of Naucratis, a captive white bear was housed by Ptolemy II in his private zoo at Alexandria.

Ancient record of animal ABUSE… …in Rome Animals, dangerous ones above all, were not always treated humanely. In the demotic story Lion in Search of Man a barbarous practice for making bears more amenable is mentioned: “… a bear whose claws had been removed and whose teeth had been pulled…” The Romans were especially fascinated with wild animals. They liked looking at them, marveling at their strangeness, watching them perform tricks - and watching them being hunted and killed. In 366 BCE, ancient historians recorded: “At one time, a bear and a bull, chained together, rolled in fierce combat across the sand ... Four hundred bears were killed in a single day under Caligula ... Under Nero, four hundred tigers fought with bulls and elephants. In a single day, at the dedication of the Colosseum by Titus, five thousand animals perished. Under Trajan ... lions, tigers, elephants, rhinoceroses, hippopotami, giraffes, bulls, stags, even crocodiles and serpents were employed to give novelty to the spectacle ...” … in India Akbar, Mughal emperor of India was hunting with locally trapped Asiatic cheetahs in1602. He was said to have had 1,000 cheetahs at one time for assisting in his royal hunts. Trapping of large numbers of adult Indian cheetahs, who had already learned hunting skills from wild mothers, for assisting in royal hunts is said to be another major cause of the species' rapid decline in India as there is only one record of a litter ever born to captive animals. By the beginning of the twentieth century, the species was already heading for extinction in many areas. Widespread hunting of the cheetah and its prey, along with conversion of its grassland habitat to farmland, eliminated it from its entire range in southwest Asia and India. The last physical evidence of the Asiatic cheetah in India was three shot by the Maharajah of Surguja in 1947.

China/Asia In 1150 BCE, Chinese Emperor Wen Wang built a great marble “house of deer. In 1100 B.C., he built an enormous zoo to display his wealth and power. This zoo, named Ling-Yu … or “The Garden of Intelligence”, covered about 1500 acres and contained animals from all parts of his empire. The Chinese had never seen a before Zheng He (advisor to the emperor Chengzu) went on an expedition to the West and brought one back. Crocodiles were the first zoo animals! In ancient civilizations, in Asia, pools of crocodiles were kept as curiosities. In the US civil war, soldiers in the south used alligator teeth to hold the gun-powder. Man has been hunting crocodiles for food, medicine or religious purposes.

Ancient Greece The ancient Greeks domesticated birds, other fowl and monkeys inhabited the grander residences as well as temples and their surroundings, signals of pomp and luxury. The taste for big cats and elephants did not develop until the time of Alexander the Great, and his successors, under the influence of Persian displays of symbols of power. By the 4th century BC, zoos existed in most Greek city-states. In fact, Alexander the Great, a pupil of Aristotle, was known to have sent animals found on his military expeditions back to Ancient Greece and he likely established the first zoo in Greece as an educational institution. Early Greek records suggest that by the 4th century B.C., city-states were displaying animals collections and that students were taken to view them as part of their general education. Pet monkeys or apes were common sights in homes in Aristotle’s time.

Middle East King Hammurabi (Babylonia, 1728-1686 B.C.) established the first known Code of Laws, which included fees that could be charged by “ox and ass doctors” (veterinarians). There is also a relief from the palace wall of King Ashurbanipal (Assyria, 668-627 B.C.) showing a servant (keeper) letting a lion out of a crate into the King’s animal collection, and this crate is very similar to crates still in use today (with wood slates and a door sliding vertically on the front side). As early as 974-937 B.C., King Solomon had great herds of cattle, horses from Egypt and other countries, parks of deer and “fatted fowl.” It is said that he even “traded gold, silver … apes and peacocks” with King Hiram of Tyre.

Europe In the 15th century the Spanish explorer Hernan Cortes found a surprisingly modern zoo when he arrived in the New World and that Columbus brought back to Europe the first macaws from the West Indies. The Renaissance ushered in a time of rapid growth of animal collections in Europe; and only then overtook Rome and Greece in the magnificence of those collections and the scientific study of them. They also developed Zoo Menageries for show and pomp. The Schonbrunn Zoo in Austria is the world’s oldest surviving zoo, built in 1752 by the Holy Roman Emperor Francis I for his wife. In 1759, the emperor’s personal curator returned from the tropical New World with many rare plants, birds and for the collection. In 1765, Francis’ son and successor opened Schonbrunn to the public.

Meso-America (Aztecs) On the other side of the world known as the New World, the Aztec societies also maintained large animal collections. Moctezuma's palace had 100 rooms and bathrooms for the lords and ambassadors of allies and conquered people. He had the largest known collections. It also had two zoos, one for birds of prey and another for other birds, reptiles, and mammals. One collection consisted of birds and required some 300 keepers. Another collection consisted of mammals and reptiles requiring another 300 keepers. There was also a botanical garden and an aquarium. The aquarium had ten salt water ponds and ten fresh water ponds, containing fish and aquatic birds. About three hundred people were dedicated to the care of the animals. Places like this also existed in Texcoco, Chapultepec, Huastepec (now called Oaxtepec), and Tezcutzingo.

Rome In addition, Roman collections became increasingly important as the power and extent of the Roman Empire expanded. While the Romans maintained extensive collections of wild animals, little mention is made of where or how they kept these animals. These animals appeared in the processionals (parades) or the arena (fights and exhibitions). We do know that large elephant facilities were maintained outside of Rome, and probably facilities for the other animals. There were also individuals (veterinarians) who cared for sick and injured animals. The treatment of animals generally in the Empire was a direct reflection of ancient Roman culture and traditions. Wolves, bears, wild boar, deer and goats were native to Rome and other animals were introduced following conquests abroad. Elephants, leopards, lions, ostriches and parrots were imported in the 1st Century B.C. followed by the , rhinoceros, camel and giraffe.

The Elephant – a symbol of ‘power’? By far the most popular of the ancient Roman animals used for show, outside the arena the elephant was a prized status symbol used to transport wealthy men and women to dinner. It did of course also have its more serious uses - in the building trade, for example, where it was able to carry, lift and pull huge weights, and as a kind of secret weapon of the ancient Roman military for, as much as anything, frightening enemies who had never seen such large and strange-looking creatures before. But above all other ancient Roman animals it was the elephant which became a symbol of Roman power and the success of its Emperors. In 46 B.C., after the defeat of rival Pompey in Greece and successful wars in Asia Minor and Egypt, Caesar held an elaborate triumphant parade in which forty trained elephants marched alongside him up the steps of the Capitol, lighted torches burning in their trunks.

The Elephant as a WAR weapon…or Elephantry The earliest Indian Vedic hymns, the Rigveda, dating from the late 2nd and early 1st millennia BC, make reference to the use of elephants for transport - especially Indra and his divine white elephant. The later stories of the Mahabharata and the Ramayana, dating from around the 4th century BC, do however mention elephant warfare. The ancient Indian kings certainly valued the elephant in war, some stating that an army without elephants is as despicable as a forest without a lion, a kingdom without a king or as valor unaided by weapons. Carthage developed its own use of war elephants. In 260 BC, Hannibal – King of Carthage deployed them extensively during the First Punic War. In China, India and Africa, the elephant is a symbol for power, dignity, intelligence and peace.

The elephant is generally considered a symbol of good luck and the animal is a symbol of good fortune. Elephants in Asia are symbolizing a kind of divinity and benevolence and that is why in the recent Asia there are still religious ceremonies where offering is made to the elephants, they wash them and anoint them with special oils and pigments so that the community be blessed with good will. They also symbolize wisdom, loyalty, strength, fidelity and longevity.

As a symbol of wisdom, the elephant is said to attain old age and with all its wisdom. The animal is highly revered for its strength and power. With different species, the white elephant having been chosen by Buddha was because he wanted to use it for his many incarnations. The white elephant is a rare animal and their appearance today will still be considered a phenomenon of the gods. It is the most positive animal symbol known with no negative consequence.

The Horse…more than a PET ?! Just as the more exotic ancient Roman animals were an important part of entertainment in the Empire, horses were as crucial a part of daily life as they are today. Where our working horses are used by police forces worldwide as well as in racing and for leisure, horses were used extensively by the ancient Roman military, were a part of farming communities as beasts of burden, and were used as animals of entertainment in chariot racing. Respected in all these roles horses were not generally kept as pets or for leisure riding in ancient Rome - with the exception of Incitatus, the horse of the Emperor Caligula. The historian Suetonius tells us that Incitatus had his own stable of marble with a manger made of ivory and was attended by eighteen servants who fed him a diet of oats mixed with gold flakes. The most spoiled of ancient Roman animals, this horse was often to be found dressed in a head- collar of precious stones, wearing a blanket of royal purple and holding his own social gatherings complete with servants. Caligula even promised to appoint Incitatus as consul - a promise he would certainly have carried out had he lived longer.

Medieval Europe & the Renaissance England Founded in 1204 by King John I, the Tower of London in Medieval England, held the most prominent collection of animals in the region, known to have included lions and bears. Successive leaders of England received gifts for the collection including leopards, a white bear, and an elephant. In 1264, the animals were moved to Bulwark; then renamed the Lion Tower. The building contained rows of cages with arched entrances, enclosed behind grilles. There were two stories of rows and the animals allegedly used the upper cages during the day and the lower story in the evening. It was not until the reign of Queen Elizabeth I in the 16th Century that the collection was open to the public. In 1818, it was reported that the Tower menagerie contained 43 mammals, 11 birds and 4 reptiles. With the opening of London Zoo in Regent’s Park in 1831, most of the animals were transferred to this new location. The Tower Menagerie acted as the royal menagerie of England for six centuries and was finally closed in 1835.

France Throughout the 17th century, exotic birds and small animals acted as ornaments for the court of France, with lions and other large animals kept primarily to be brought out for staged fights. The collection of animals by the court of France continued to grow and by the 1660’s Louis XIV. In 1661 Louis XIV ordered the construction of two menageries for ferocious beasts … primarily for organized animal fights. The animals, including lions, tigers and leopards were housed on the ground floor in cells flanking an amphitheater where the king would entertain visiting dignitaries with bloody battles. Animal fights were halted at Vincennes around 1700 and the site fell into disuse. With the building of the Palace of Versailles, in 1664 Louis XIV constructed a menagerie within the palace’s park to entertain his guests. Designed in the Baroque style, it had a circular layout in the center of which was a pavilion. Around the pavilion was a walking path and beyond this path were the enclosures and cages of the animals. Each enclosure had a stable at the far end for the animals and was bounded on three sides with walls, with iron bars only in the direction of the pavilion. By the turn of the century, the lions, leopards, and tigers from the menagerie at Vincennes were transferred to Versailles.

Germany During the Middle Ages, several sovereigns across Europe maintained menageries at their royal courts. An early example is that of the Emperor Charlemagne in the 8th century. His three menageries, at Aachen, Nijmegen and Ingelheim, located in present-day Netherlands and Germany, housed the first elephants seen in Europe since the Roman Empire, along with monkeys, lions, bears, camels, falcons, and many exotic birds. Charlemagne received exotic animals for his collection as gifts from rulers of Africa and Asia. In 797, the caliph of Baghdad, Harun al-Rashid, presented Charlemagne with an Asian elephant named Abul-Abbas.

Archaeological Proof … Egypt The 2009 an archaeological field dig was conducted at a site in the ancient Egyptian capital of Hierakonpolis, on the Nile south of Luxor. Archaeologists found evidence of an ongoing, exotic menagerie dating back to around 3500 B.C. The site revealed strange animal fossils of 10 dogs, a baby hippo, a , a cow and calf, and an elephant. The tally for this menagerie now stands at 112 critters, including 2 elephants, 3 hippos, 11 baboons, and 6 wildcats. The animal burials are in the city’s elite cemetery, where rulers and their family members were interred. Recently discovered evidence has indicated that the city’s powerful rulers kept the animals in captivity. Baboons, a wild cat, and a hippo show signs of bone fractures that can only have healed in a protected environment. A 10-year-old male elephant had eaten twigs from acacia trees as well as wild and cultivated plants from varied environments, suggesting it was being fed by humans. Egyptian murals dating back to 1,400 B.C. depict at least two breeds of cattle that were believed to have been developed from wild ox. These same Egyptians tried to domesticate (or acclimatize) many local birds and mammals such as monkeys, hyenas and many species of antelope. The mural show how the menagerie was a display of power and that the animals were likely sacrificed on the death of a ruler. This ritual of sacrifice enabled the ruler the power to exert control over large and exotic animals and potentially become them, taking their natural, physical power as his own.

Role of the Camel in Africa There are millions of camels living in Africa, most of them can be found in the countries that border the Sahara desert, African camels have been domesticated for at least 4,000 years and are of the single-humped, "dromedary" variety. Camels are vitally important and are used for transport, meat, milk, wool and leather. Camels made it possible to establish trade routes across the Sahara desert, linking West Africa to North Africa. Berbers acquired camels, used for deep desert trade. Camels are held in the highest esteem in Somalia. Somalis have 46 different words for the camel. It's the camel's ability to withstand extreme temperatures that makes them so valuable in arid and hot conditions during the day, and cold temperatures at night. Camels are generally used as pack animals and not so much as a free ride. Camels are still used to transport massive blocks of salt from the desert in Mali (Timbuktu), to facilitate trade.

Role of the Camel in Arabia The Arabian camel or the dromedary camel is found mainly in Saudi Arabia. It is characterized by one hump on it's back. It is the more common of the two camels. Arabian camels have been and are used for war, commercial travel, and trade. They are a valuable commodity for the Arabian people who depend on their camels to help bring them income. In its earliest domestication in 3000 BC, its main purpose was for milk as well as for riding. Camels have been used in war for thousands of years. They have been used by Arab countries to win and control vast amounts of land which also helped shape the prestige of the camel and spread its domestication. Besides being used as a weapon of war, the camel is also a valuable cargo transporter.

What is a MENAGERIE? A menagerie is a form of keeping common and exotic animals in captivity that preceded the modern zoological garden. The term was first used in the 17th c. France in reference to the management of household or domestic stock. Later, it came to be used primarily in reference to aristocratic or royal animal collections. The French-language "Methodical Encyclopaedia" of 1782 defines a menagerie as an "establishment of luxury and curiosity." Later on, the term referred also to travelling animal collections that exhibited wild animals at fairs across Europe and the Americas. A menagerie was mostly connected with an aristocratic or royal court and was situated within a garden or park of a palace. The aristocratic menageries were not primarily of scientific and educational interest. These aristocrats wanted to illustrate their power and wealth, because exotic animals, alive and active, were less common, more difficult to acquire, and more expensive to maintain.

Role of the Cheetah in Africa and Arabia In Iran and the Indian subcontinent, it was particularly numerous. Cheetahs are the only big cat that can be tamed and trained to hunt gazelle. The Mughal Emperor of India, Akbar, was said to have had 1,000 cheetahs at one time, something depicted in many Persian and Indian miniature paintings. The West African kings of the ancient and medieval periods bred Cheetahs and trained them as a punishment tool for thieves and criminals. They freed the condemned; then they turned the cheetahs loose on them. No man could outrun the fastest animal on earth.