Cheetahs

Cheetahs The cheetah is the fastest land animal in the world! It can reach speeds up to 75 miles per hour, and can accelerate from 0 to 100 miles per hour in three seconds. It’s species conservation status is listed as ‘Vulnerable.’ They are territorial, carnivorous felines that live in eastern and southern Africa. They can live up to twenty years depending on where and how it was raised. Cheetahs have a randomized polka-dotted pattern on their fur that helps them blend into the dry grass. They have semi-retractable claws, used for extra grip when pursuing prey. The reason why cheetahs can run so fast is because of their large nostrils to increase oxygen intake, larger lungs, and a larger heart. An odd and rare mutation of cheetah is what they call the King Cheetah. It is distinct by its larger spots and stripes down the back. Only twenty-two of these rare cheetahs have been reported between 1962 and 1974. In fact, they have been spotted in Kruger National Park in South Africa. Some other color variations have been found with speckles, melanism (black), albinism (white), and a gray color. Cheetahs usually find their homes in the grasslands, savannahs, or in places of huge vegetation. They mostly live in eastern and southern Africa, but some live in countries in the Eurasian area, such as Iran, India, and Pakistan. Cheetahs eat a wide range of foods, but they are strictly carnivorous, so they only eat meat. Their diets consists of many types of gazelle, springbok, impala, wildebeests, blesbok, zebras, ostriches, and sometimes hares. When cheetahs hunt, they stalk their prey by hiding in the tall grass. When they start running after the prey, if they don't get it in a short amount of time, they give up, because they don't have the stamina to run for a very long time. Their success rate is about 55%. To decrease the risk of stolen food, they eat it right after it is caught and killed. In ancient Egypt, hunters would train and tame cheetahs to do the hunting for them.  Female cheetahs can have cubs when they are around two years old. Males reach maturity at a year old but do not mate until around three years of age. Mating occurs all year, and the females are sexually promiscuous and have cubs with different fathers almost every time. Females can give birth to up to nine cubs, but the average litter is about four cubs. The rate cubs survive is about about 65%. Cubs leave their mother a year and a half after birth. Unlike the females, the males stay in a pack and live together for the rest of their lives. Females live alone to raise their own cubs. If there is only one male in the litter, he will join an existing group of males, or make his own group with other cheetahs that only have one male in the litter.  Grown cheetahs have a low mortality rate due to its lack in predators. They have set up breeding programs around the world to conserve cheetahs inhabitants. About 12,400 cheetahs roam free on African turf today. Some countries have even tried to pass laws that ban cheetah hunting.