Cheetahs are the "black sheep" of the cat family. Their slender physique and incredible speed is totally un-catlike. Neither entirely solitary like most cat species, nor highly social like lions - male cheetahs often form coalitions whereas females are loners when not raising cubs. But their idiosyncratic habits don’t stop there: they use their environment in totally different ways to other cats, and herein lies a promising solution for cheetah conservation.