The cheetah is a beautiful and graceful animal, which is considered the fastest runner among predators. The cheetah-specific hunting method is very interesting. When you watch a predator chasing a game, your heart just freezes at the speed the beast develops. You can learn about how cheetahs look, how they live in the wild, by reading this article.
Cheetah habitat
Today, the life of cheetahs is not easy. Because of the beautiful skin of the beast, hunting for him was very popular, and the speed with which he runs cannot protect him from the bullets of ruthless hunters.
Now spotted beauties in the wild live in Africa, and in the recent past they could be found in Arabia, and in India, and in Iran. Cheetahs were on the verge of extinction, so that the species does not disappear from the face of the Earth, animals are bred in captivity and protected in the natural environment.
Description
The method of hunting characteristic of a cheetah is due to the structure of the body of the beast; it has aerodynamic structure. This contributes to streamlining while running, which makes it possible to develop greater speed. The muscles are highly developed, there is almost no fat on the body, it is slim and graceful, at first glance it even seems somewhat fragile. In fact, the animal is strong, its distinguishing feature is the speed that it develops instantly and uses it during the hunt. We will talk about the method of hunting a bit later.
Describing the appearance of the cheetah, one cannot fail to note its extraordinary beauty, which is very different from the beauty of other wild cats. The head of the beast is small with high-set eyes, enlarged nostrils, small rounded ears and two black thin stripes on the sides on the muzzle. These stripes give the impression that the beast is saddened.
The color of the cheetah is sandy yellow, black small spots are randomly scattered throughout the body. The weight of an adult animal is 45-66 kg, body length 110-140 cm, the tail is beautiful and long up to 70-82 cm. The nails are partially retractable, this is a hallmark of the species. This feature helps the beast to sharply change direction at high speed, which again helps him in the hunt.
Cheetah characterization
In the natural environment, cheetahs live 12-15 years, in captivity they can live up to 20 years. Males have their own territory, which is marked with urine and guarded. Females do not have their own territory, they are kept alone and simply follow the prey. The lair of the beast is open, it usually settles in prickly thickets, on large termite mounds, under trees or in rocks. Unlike other cats, the cheetah is not clean. He often changes his lair, so he does not have the habit of relieving himself in the same place. In captivity, it is also not possible to accustom him to cleanliness.
The method of hunting characteristic of a cheetah allows it to feast on such game as an antelope and zebra, but it’s rather difficult to catch them. This is a very quick artiodactyl, not every predator is able to catch up with a healthy antelope on a flat open area, for a cheetah, on the contrary, this is the best option. A spotted predator hunts in a territory with low grass, because it needs a review.
Breeding
Cheetahs form pairs only during the mating season, after the rut the animals disperse, the female takes care of the offspring herself.
Pregnancy lasts three months. In one litter there are 2-6 kittens. Toddlers are born weak and represent easy prey for other predators. Therefore, the mother constantly guards them and often changes the place of the den.
Cheetah-specific hunting method
Spotted predators have sharp eyesight; to search for prey, they climb a hill and can notice a prey at a great distance. Cheetah hunting takes place either in the morning at sunrise, or in the evening at dusk, males can arrange raids together, but the females are single-handed, they never hunt together.
Having outlined the object of prey, the animal throws all its strength into catching it. First, the predator, cuddling to the ground, crawls to the target at a distance of 150-200 meters, then rushes forward and, developing incredible speed, catches up with a victim, which has almost no chance to escape. The cheetah jumps 6-8 meters, for one such throw the beast spends half a second. Speed in just 3 seconds, this handsome man can develop up to 90-100 km / h. A wild cat can run at this pace only a few hundred meters, since a jerk of such power requires a huge consumption of oxygen. Cases have been noticed, especially with young animals, when, having run 200-300 meters, the predator lost consciousness and for a long time could not recover. Experienced spotted hunters, if they did not catch the prey in the first hundreds of distances, simply stop the pursuit and begin to search for a new target.
Having caught the prey, the predator cuts it and knocks it down with a paw of the front paw. The inner finger of the paw is armed with a curved sharp claw, with the first strike this claw makes a deep wound in the body of the game. The cheetah smothers its prey thrown to the ground by the throat without opening its jaw for 6-8 minutes.
Interesting facts from the life of cheetahs
The life of a cheetah in the wild is extremely interesting, I would like to draw your attention to some interesting facts:
- Over short distances, a cheetah can easily overtake a racehorse.
- A spotted cat never eats carrion, when saturated, it leaves the remains to birds or jackals. Without even thinking of guarding the carcass until the next meal, the beast leaves irrevocably.
- A predator drinks water only once every three to four days.
- The nobles of Assyria and India in ancient times held competitions of cheetahs, this was considered royal entertainment.
- The cheetah is easy to tame. Despite the hunting bloodthirsty instinct, this predator is quite calm and affectionate. Not a single case of a cheetah attacking a person has been recorded.
- Russian princes loved to hunt along with the tamed cheetah.