Acinonyx jubatus
THE CHEETAH
An agile, sleek and a elegant animal, the cheetah is the fastest mammal on earth, reaching speeds of up to 70mph. Mostly found in Africa and some small pockets of populaton in Iran and Russia, the cheetah is critically endangered and it is a race to save these beautiful, intelligent animals.
The Cheetah is commonly found in Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Botswana, Namibia and South Africa.Some small number can be found in South West Asia and the Middle East. Cheetahs are suited to open terrain, like grasslands, savannas and woodlands. However, they are also seen in thick bush country or semi dessert envoinments.
(C) Copyright Verne Moore
A Cheetah has a body built for high speeds, said to resemble a greyhound. They have small heads and jaws, long slender legs and a flexible backbone. A long tail with a heavy tip also helps to balance when attempting high speed turns and manoveurs. They cannot fully retract their claws which helps them to achieve high speeds.
A cheetah's coat is usually yellowish grey or tawny with small black spots.  A distintive feature are "tear marks", black markings starting from the corner of the eye to the upper lip. The black spots and markings are silkier than the coarse yellow fur.
Cheetahs communicate in birdlike chirps and are unable to roar.
They also have excellent eyesight for judging distances while hunting.
A adult Cheetah can wiegh 120-130 lbs and is about 1.5m in length and a metre in hieght. They can sprint in short bursts at speeds of 70mph which makes them the world's fastest mammal.
(C) Copyright Verne Moore
In captivity, Cheetahs can live upto 15 years but in the wild their life is only 4-5 years long.
(C) Copyright Andre Brunsperger
Cheetahs tend to hunt small animals because their small head and jaws are not powerful enough to tackle large animals. They will prey on Thompson's gazelles, Impalas, hares, young ostriches, medium sized antelope and other small or weak animals. While hunting, cheetahs trip up their prey and then finish off by strangling it's kill. Cheetahs, after sprinting, need a rest for atleast 20-30 mins. This makes them vunerable because scavengers such as hyenas and vultures, can steal their kill. They are not good at climbing, so they cannot hide their kill on tree tops like some of their relatives. It is not in the nature of a Cheetah to scavenge.
(C) Copyright Verne Moore
Cheetahs usually breed in the wet season.
Females are usually solitary animals except during mating or when with cubs. Males tend to live in groups of 2 or 3 to protect territory. These males usually are brothers. Competition for females is so fierce that half of the young males may die .
Females give birth to 3 or 4 cubs at a time. However, a group of 8 cubs is not uncommon. Six week yr old cubs follow their mother around. She teaches them to hunt and by 18 months they are ready to lead an independant life. Unfortunately, 50%-75% cubs die before reaching maturity. This is mainly because of some dangerous predators including the lion, leopard and the hyena.
(C) Copyright Andre Brunsperger
Scientists believe that at some point in history, there was a bottle neck, meaning all cheetahs at that time came from one female. This may explain the similarity in Cheetah genes which makes them prone to diseases.
Once a thriving creature, the Cheetah is now a highly endangered species. There are only 9000 to 12000 cheetahs left in the world. conservation is the key to this awe inspiring animal and we must work to achieve that goal.
(C) Copyright Andre Brunsperger
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I would like to thank and acknowledge Andre Brunsperger,Verne Moore and Ian Keel for allowing me to use some exquisite peices of wildlife photography. All photographs are copyright to their photographers and I was granted permission to use them. Please visit their homepages for more wildlife photos.
Kenya Safari
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(C) Copyright Ian Keel
Ian Keel's Wildlife Photography Homepage
(C) Copyright Verne Moore (C) Copyright Verne Moore
Note: All pictures and photographs are copyright to their photographers and were used with their permission.