******Cheetah******
Rishita Korapati Period 2 5/16/16
Habitat
Cheetahs range through many continents, but their distribution today is much more scattered with a small number found in Iran and the majority found in sub-Saharan Africa. Although Cheetahs are still found in a few different parts of eastern and southern Africa , the highest population of wild Cheetahs is now found in Namibia in south-western Africa. Cheetahs are most commonly found stalking prey on the vast, open grasslands but they are also found in a variety of other habitats as well including deserts, dense vegetation and mountainous terrain, providing that there are both equal supplies of food and water.
a cheetah in a tree
a cheetah stalking it's prey
a cheetah doing a quick turn
Movement
The speed of the Cheetah is caused by a number of things including having strong and powerful hind legs, and an incredibly flexible and muscular spine which allows the Cheetah to not only sprint quickly. They also have non-retractable claws which dig into the ground, giving the Cheetah better grip at high speed.They have light weight bodies that help them while running. Cheetah have a unique, flexible spine, which allows for them while running at top speeds.Cheetahs have muscles that help in when running too.
Body Covering
The Cheetah has a long and slender body that is covered in coarse yellowish fur and dotted with small black spots. It's long tail helps with balance and changing direction quickly and unlike the rest of the Cheetah's body, there are ringed markings along the tail which ends in a black tip. Cheetahs have small heads with high set eyes that aid them when surrounding grasslands for prey. They also have black "tear marks" that run from the inner eye, along their nose and down to the outside of their mouths, which are thought to help protect them from being blinded by the bright sun. Cheetah cubs have long tall hair that runs from their neck all the way down to the base of their tail, which is called the mantle. The mantle makes a cheetah cub look like a honey badger and makes them blend into tall grass, which helps keep them safe from threats like lions and hyenas.( sweet search)
Diet
The Cheetah has exceptional eyesight and so hunts using sight by first stalking it's prey (from between 10 to 30 meters away), and then chasing it when the time is right. Cheetahs often kill their prey in vast open spaces but tend to drag it into a hiding place to prevent it from being scavenged by other animals. The Cheetah has to do this as it cannot eat it's prey straight away, due to the fact that they are immensely hot after the chase and need time to cool down before they can feast. Cheetahs are carnivorous animals meaning that they only hunt and kill other animals in order to get the nutrition that they need to survive. They mainly hunt large herbivores including Gazelle and a number of large antelope species such as Wildebeest, along with zebras and smaller mammals like hares. ( Discovery education)
A female cheetah giving food to it's young
A baby cub eating food
2 cheetahs eating
Reprouduction
A gestation period that lasts for around 3 months for a female cheetah , the female Cheetah gives birth to between two and five cubs that are born blind and incredibly vulnerable in the African wilderness. The cubs eat from their mother for the first few months when they begin eating meat, and start to accompany her on hunting trips as they are able to learn how to hunt from watching her. Cheetah cubs learn the majority of their hunting techniques through playing with their siblings, and remain with their mother until they can hunt successfully and leave to find their own territory at between 18 months and 2 years old.....EACH CUB CAN EAT A POUND OF MEAT....(Discovery education Says that the mother gets an animal with out killing it fully an let's her cubs chase it around and to eat.....
baby cheetah cubs
a baby cheetah Cub after it's appetite
A baby cheetah Cub near a man's foot
Adaptations
Cheetah is mostly adapted to grassy lands where they can find accurate amount of food and water. Cheetahs have many characteristics that help it find food and stay safe. Cheetah's only fear if something happens to it's environment A.K.F where it lives. Cheetah's fur helps it blend in with the prairie grasslands to stalk prey.
Other Info
The cheetah is the fastest land animal in the world. They can reach a top speed of around 113 km per hour.
- A cheetah can accelerate from 0 to 113 km in just a few seconds.
- Cheetahs are extremely fast however they tire quickly and can only keep up their top speed for a few minutes before they are too tired to continue.
- Cheetahs are smaller than other members of the big cat family, weighing only 45 – 60 kilograms.
- One way to always recognize a cheetah is by the long, black lines which run from the inside of each eye to the mouth. These are usually called “tear lines” and scientists believe they help protect the cheetah’s eyes from the harsh sun and help them to see long distances.
- Cheetahs are the only big cat that cannot roar. They can purr though and usually purr most loudly when they are grooming or sitting near other cheetahs.
- While lions and leopards usually do their hunting at night, cheetahs hunt for food during the day.
- A cheetah has amazing eyesight during the day and can spot prey from 5 km away.
- Cheetahs cannot climb trees and have poor night vision