Cheetah

Cheetahs are large cats from Africa known for their crazy speed and spotty fur.

Name

Cheetahs get their name from an old language called Sanskrit ‘citra’ which means painted because of their spots.

About

There are 4 subspecies or type of cheetah based on where they live. The Southeast African, Northeast African, Northwest African, and Asiatic Cheetahs. They are a little bit different from one another and what scientists call ‘genetically distinct’.

Cheetah cubs are born in litters of up to five, and cheetah mums are only pregnant for three months!

Cheetahs spend most of their days awake because they need to hunt. They mostly do this at sunrise and sunset when it is cooler. In the Sahara desert cheetahs wait until after sunset, otherwise it is just too warm.

Hunting

To hunt their prey, cheetah search for a suitable target from a lookout or even from the low branches of a tree. They will then sneak up, staying hidden and camouflaged thanks to their fur. They get up as close as possible, or hide and wait for the prey to come close, they get very close to the ground with their head down so they cant be seen.

They jump out and start running at their prey at up to 80 miles an hour! That’s faster than cars allowed to go on British roads. They use their paws to try to trip up the animal so they can catch them. Cheetahs are only successful about 32{6c082c8494c21a03d17f10d863ee8b06d7dc461388e432433da70d4d6afda271} of the time.

After this they are exhausted so they take the food into the shade and rest for almost an hour while their friends enjoy the meal first.

Threats

Unfortunately cheetahs are categorised as vulnerable as people still hunt them, farmers kill them to protect their livestock, and their habitat is being destroyed. Their furs can be sold in the illegal wildlife trade.