Cheetahs

1. Cheetahs It is a mammal. It lives in Africa. The name "cheetah" comes from a Hindi word meaning "spotted one" or from the Sanskrit word "chitraka". An adult has yellow or tan fur with solid black round or oval spots measuring .75 to 1.5 inches (1.9 to 3.8 centimeters) in diameter. The spots cover nearly the entire body; only the white throat and abdomen are unmarked. The tail ends with 4-6 black rings and a bushy, white tuft. The spot pattern plus the ring pattern on the tail enable the identification of specific cheetahs (by humans). The head is small with eyes set high and a black "tear mark" running from the inner aspect of each eye down to the mouth. The teeth are small to accommodate large nasal passages. An adult cheetah weighs 80-140 pounds (36-64 kilograms), is about 32 inches (81 centimeters) tall at the shoulder and 48-56 inches (121-142 centimeters) long with another 28-32 inches (70-81 centimeters) in tail - males are a little larger than females. Like the dog, the cheetah extends its claws while it is running to help it get a good grip on the ground. The claw are fairly blunt, only slightly curved, and very strong. Cheetahs are sometimes mistaken for leopards - much heavier animals with rosette shaped spots and no tear marks.   A cheetah is carnivorous and eats a variety of small animals. While most cats are nocturnal predators, the cheetah is primarily diurnal, hunting in early morning and late afternoon. Since it depends on sight rather than smell, it likes to scan the countryside from a tree limb or the top of a termite mound. Other big cats chase only a few hundred meters: the cheetah chases 3.4 miles (5500 meters) at an average speed of 45 miles per hour (72 kilometers per hour). Stalking is as important as the fast sprint: usually it will creep within 50 yards (46 meters) of an intended victim before the final acceleration. Full sprints last about 20 seconds and almost never exceed 1 full minute. If it succeeds in catching an animal the cheetah will suffocate it by clamping the animal's windpipe, sometimes holding a clamp as long as 5 minutes. Very small animals like hares are killed by a simple bite through the skull. But whatever the meal - large or small -  cheetah eats quickly for if challenged it will most often lose. Cheetahs have unusually clean eating habits: they do not return to their kill nor do they eat carrion; they leave the skin, bones and entrails of their prey. At 6 weeks the young are strong enough to follow the hunt and when they are about 6 months old the mother will capture live prey for them to practice killing.

2. Cheetahs have unusually clean eating habits: they do not return to their kill nor do they eat carrion; they leave the skin, bones and entrails of their prey. At 6 weeks the young are strong enough to follow the hunt and when they are about 6 months old the mother will capture live prey for them to practice killing. Cheetahs predators are Lions, Hyenas, and Leopards. Half of the babies die in the first 8 months. They are attacked by other animals. The baby cheetahs stay with its mother until it is 2 years old. The cheetah has 2 to 5 babies. The baby cheetahs weigh 9 to 10 ounces. The baby cheetahs are silver and gray mixed together. When they are born, both parents care for the babies. The cheetah is faster than a race car, isn’t that amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Although once widespread in Asia and Africa, cheetah populations are now isolated to the savannahs and grasslands of sub-Saharan Africa. Cheetahs are the world’s fastest land animals and are capable of sprinting at speeds up to 70 miles per hour. And unlike other big cats, cheetahs do not roar. These magnificent cats prey upon hoofed animals such as gazelles. Cheetahs have unusually clean eating habits: they do not return to their kill nor do they eat carrion; they leave the skin, bones and entrails of their prey. At 6 weeks the young are strong enough to follow the hunt and when they are about 6 months old the mother will capture live prey for them to practice killing.