Cheetah
Acinonyx jubatus
Classification
- Domain Eukarya: This domain contains organisms whose cells have a nucleus. They can be single-celled or multicellular.
- Kingdom Animalia: All are multicellular, heterotrophs, and have the ability to move at some point in life.
- Phylum Chordata: Members have bilateral symmetry, a notochord (stiff rod that extends for the length of the body), and a complete digestive system.
- Subphylum Vertebrata: This group has a backbone, an endoskeleton, and their movements are provided by muscles attached to the endoskeleton.
- Class Mammalia: These animals produce milk with mammary glands, have hair, and three inner ear bones.
- Order Carnivora: They have specialized teeth for cutting meat. They generally are medium-sized animals, with males typically being larger than females.
- Family Felidae: Members of the cat family have a short snout, retractable claws (except for cheetahs), and strong forelimbs for climbing.
- Genus Acinonyx: This genus only includes the cheetah.
- Species: Acinonyx jubatus
General Description
- Height: On average, cheetahs are 80-90 cm. from shoulder to the ground.
- Length: On average, the cheetah's body length is 112-150 cm, while its tail, on average, is 60-80 cm.
- Weight: On average, cheetahs weigh between 21-72 kg.
- Color: The cheetah's main color is pale yellow, grey, or tan on top side, with lighter color to white on bottom. They have black spots closely spaced covering their entire body and the top of tail. They have two distinct black stripes from inside corner of eye that run along the length of the muzzle.
- Natural range: Cheetahs are mostly found across central and southwestern Africa, and some in eastern Asia (Iran).
- Diet: Cheetahs eat mainly gazelle, and other small hoofed animals such as impala.
- Habitat Description: Cheetahs live in grassland and desert areas, and can be found occasionally climbing trees.
- Predators: Cheetah cubs are most at risk of predators, such as lions, leopards, and hyenas; adult cheetahs are usually to flee predators.
Cheetah Coalition
A group of cheetahs is called a coalition.
Cheetah in its Habitat
Cheetah colors help it blend into its surroundings.
Natural Range Map
This map shows the general area where cheetahs can be found.
Physical Adaptations
Cheetahs have black stripes that run from the inside corner of the eye down the side of the snout. This helps reduces glare from the sun, which helps the cheetah see better for hunting on bright sunny days. Their body color is light brown to tan, and is covered with closely spaced spots, which allows it to blend into the tall grass habitat, which helps with hunting. All cheetahs have a flexible spine, which allows for them to stretch out their front limbs further to reach maximum speed. Cheetahs are the only cat species that does not have fully retractable claw. This allows the cheetah to get extra grip on the ground, which helps with speed and agility. Their long tail helps with balance for making quick turns. The nostrils, lungs and heart are larger in a cheetah than they are in other cats. Because of this, they can get more oxygen during high speed chases.
Behavioral Adaptations
Most cheetah behaviors revolve around hunting and mating. Cheetahs stalk their prey by watching a herd from a high ground point. That way they can spot a member of the prey herd that is weaker and less likely to escape. During the chase, the cheetah trips up its prey with its front paws. This allows the cheetah to get the animal to the ground so they can get to the throat to suffocate their prey. Cheetahs have a variety of vocal calls, such as a chirp or what sounds somewhat like a dog bark to identify members of their coalition, or to find their cubs. Males make a call called a "stutter-bark" to locate female cheetahs during mating season. Males mark territory by urinating and defend territory against other males, which helps protect their females from mating with other male cheetahs. Cheetahs typically mate during the rainy season. This is important, because the cubs will be born in the months following the rainy season, when food will be abundant and grass will be tall to keep them hidden from predators.
References
Defenders of the Wild. (2015). Basic facts about cheetahs. Retrieved
from http://www.defenders.org/cheetah/basic-facts
Lehnert, E. (2013). Acinonyx jubatus. Animal Diversity Web. Retrieved
from http://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Acinonyx_jubatus/
Tonk, R. (2001). Cheetah. International Wildlife Encyclopedia. 3(3). Pages 350-353.