In a remarkable discovery, a “golden cheetah” has been spotted for the first time in a century in Kenya’s Athi Kapiti Conservancy. This spotless cheetah, named for its rare golden coloration, was captured by British wildlife photographer Guy Combes in the conservancy located in southern Kenya, near the Nairobi-Amboseli region. The cheetah’s golden coat results from a rare recessive gene that dilutes the typical spotted pattern, similar to the genetic mutation seen in “King” cheetahs found in South Africa and Zimbabwe.
The last recorded sighting of such a cheetah was in Tanzania in 1921, though color variations have been mentioned in historical records dating back to 1608 when India’s Mughal Emperor documented a white cheetah with blue spots. The cheetah’s unusual golden hue may provide it with a unique advantage in the wild by mimicking the appearance of a young lion, offering enhanced camouflage against predators.
