According to abbreviationfinder.org, the cheetah has been named the hunting leopard because it is built with its incredibly fast speed to hunt and catch its prey. The cheetah is definitely worth noting on its journey abroad as it is incredibly overwhelming to experience. However, it can be difficult to spot this beauty as the cheetah is the fastest animal on earth in the world. It is no coincidence that the cheetah has been named the world’s fastest land animal. The cheetah is capable of reaching speeds of up to 110 to 120 kilometers per hour.
Facts about the cheetah
| Location: | Africa and Asia |
| Life expectancy: | 12 years in nature |
| Weight: | 35-70 kilos |
| Size: | 110 to 135 centimeters long |
| Food: | The cheetah is a predator, eating only meat |
| Quantity: | 10,000-15,000 |
| Fun fact: | A cheetah is the only cat that cannot take its claws in. |
Characteristics
The characteristics of the cheetah are by its very small head compared to its large body, here one can in particular see the difference between a leopard and a cheetah. Many people think that the cheetah is almost identical to the leopard, but the cheetah is actually quite easy to distinguish from other large spotted cats. The cheetah is very characteristic with its very slender body, small head and extra long legs. These characteristics as well as its large lungs make its body ideal for the fast hunts on the savannas of Africa, where it can reach almost 100 kilometers per hour. If you are lucky you will see a cheetah in full sprint, on a safari in Kenya. The cheetah is certainly not a small animal either, it weighs about 35-70 kilos and is 200-220 centimeters long, of which the tail is 60-70 centimeters. The cheetah is thus among the big cats in the cat family. The cheetah’s fur is pale light yellow, on which it has small round black spots. In addition, the cheetah has a very characteristic face, where a black strip of tears runs on each side of the head from the corner of the eye to the corner of the mouth. This special appearance gives the animal a very melancholy facial expression.
Food
The cheetah’s food includes larger mammals such as impalas and gazelles. The food and the hunt can also offer small mammals such as hares and rodents. The cheetah’s hunting method is special from other animals. Hidden in the bushes, the cheetah first sneaks close to its prey. Then it prepares for its hunt. It has not necessarily been its victim when the hunt begins. Thanks to its speed, the cheetah chooses at the last minute which of the animals it should be. The cheetah is not pale for choosing a prey that is larger than it is, because it can easily catch up and kill the prey. Therefore, the hunt itself can be over in just one minute and if the race tends to take longer than that, it tends to give up. The hunt for its prey typically happens during the day because that is where most predators sleep.
Pregnancy
The mating between the male and female cheetah takes place in a slightly fun way. The female puts scent marks with urine, and scratches in tree trunks to show that she is willing to mate. Here the female will be susceptible to mating for three to seven days. During this time, the female and the male mate repeatedly, and go together all the time during that period. The female cheetah goes pregnant for 95 to 112 days, after which she then gives birth to two to four blind cubs in a protected cave. The pups’ eyes only open when they are two weeks old, after which their teeth begin to grow.
The cubs leave their protected cave when they are two months old, however, they stay with the mother until they are 20 or 24 months old. After the two months, the mother trains them in hunting, and they thus follow her on the hunt. When they are about a year old, they start hunting themselves, and with the help of their mother, they learn how to survive out on the plain. Around the age of two, they can already catch large prey. Only after the pups are 20 to 24 months old do they begin to search for a territory together and reproduce.
Herds
The cheetah differs to that extent from other animals in the cat family, as it does not move in large herds, as lions and leopards do. The cheetah usually travels alone or with a few other cheetahs. The hunt for other animals also happens alone, where it sneaks in on its prey and attacks with its incredibly fast speed. Here, the cheetah’s long tail helps to change abrupt course changes and the cheetah can reach its prey in one minute.
There is a lot of difference in the way of life of male and female horses. The young horse usually lives completely alone, however, when she has given birth to a litter of pups, she spends about 20 months caring for them. In addition, the female is not aggressive towards other cheetahs and has no territory either. Whereas the male rarely lives alone, here males group themselves in small groups of three to five, living and hunting together. The males also fight very hard for their territory and are ready to attack if other males enter their territory.
Family
The cheetah is a member of the cat family, where the cats vary in size from small to large cat species. They are all predators. The cheetah is thus related to the Danish domestic cat, but also other larger cat species such as tigers, lions, lynx, leopards, jaguars and cougars. Hyenas and desmer animals are not directly part of the cat family, so they are therefore the closest relative to the Cheetah. The cheetah is not like the others in the cat family who hunt using group tactics and invisibility. The cheetah’s greatest hunting weapon is instead its incredibly fast speed. It can be difficult to tell the difference between the cheetah and other spotted cat breeds such as the leopard and the jaguar. The big difference, however, is to be found in body shape and the shape and pattern of the spots. The leopard has round, smaller spots, where the jaguars are polygonal rosettes. The cheetah spots are more polka-like. They are simple, round and black, distributed throughout its body. In addition, the cheetah has a longer body and a smaller head than the leopard.
Travelers’ questions about the cheetah
Where is the greatest chance of seeing a cheetah?
A cheetah can be experienced in both smaller parts of Africa and Asia. In the past, the cheetah was widespread in large parts of both Africa and Asia. Now, unfortunately, the cheetah’s habitats have been greatly reduced. The reason for this is that there has been a lot of hunting, which is why the cheetah’s habitats have been destroyed. This has meant that the population of the cheetah is greatly reduced today and has made the cheetah endangered. There is the greatest chance to experience this majestic animal in Africa, where the main ingredient lives. More specifically, the cheetahs live in southern and eastern Africa. In Asia today, the cheetah is almost extinct, and only small isolated populations are found in the Iranian desert.
What’s the secret behind the cheetah’s speed?
The secret behind the cheetah’s incredible speed is in its body shape. The speed lies in its long, flexible backbone, which allows the cheetah to run up to 6.7 meters for every step. The cheetah’s very sharp claws also allow them to grip the ground properly when running, which gives the cheetah extra traction. The fastest cheetah in the world has set a whole overwhelming record on its speed. It was an 11-year-old cheetah that ran 100 meters in just 5.95 seconds. When compared to man, the world’s fastest man, Usain Bolt, can run 100 meters in 9.58 seconds. It is therefore not recommended to try to race with this distinctive beautiful feline.
What is the cheetah’s top speed, and when does it reach it?
The cheetah can reach its top speed, which is 120 kilometers per hour, in less than ten seconds. It can keep the top speed for a few minutes at a time, so an animal’s only chance to survive is by running the cheetah tired. With rapid shifts, it is possible for an animal to survive the speed of the cheetah. It can also happen that the cheetah puts in its sprint too early, which is why it gets tired and thus cannot complete its hunt.
What the cheetah does in its hunt for its prey is to run its prey up and then throw itself over it. When the cheetah has thrown itself over its prey, it pulls it down to the ground with its forelegs. Then the cheetah suffocates its prey, by biting it hard in the throat so that it dies. Thus, the cheetah can more easily pull it away to a hidden place to eat its prey in peace, without being disturbed by other predators on the savannah. However, after the cheetah has killed its prey, the feline just needs 30 minutes to catch its breath (breath) before it can make use of its prey.
