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Cheetah

Acinonyx jubatus

CLASS: Mammalia
ORDER: Carnivora
FAMILY: Felidae
GENUS: Acinonyx
SPECIES: jubatus

LIFESPAN: 8-12 years in captivity
COLOR/PATTERN: Their faces are marked with dark lines that run from the inside corners of the eyes to the outside corners of their mouths, while the cheetahs’ coats are yellowish-gray with pale black spots. The fur of newborn cubs is dark and the spots are blended together and barely visible. During the first few weeks of life, a thick yellowish-gray coat, called a mantle, grows along the cub’s back.
HABITAT: The cheetah is generally considered to be an animal of open country and grasslands; however, cheetahs use a wider variety of habitats and are found often in dense vegetation and even mountainous terrain.
RANGE: Scattered though eastern Africa and a region of southwest Africa. There is a possible remnant of population in Iran.
HEIGHT: males-30-35 inches, females-28-34 inches
LENGTH: 44-53 inches long with tail length of 26-33 inches
WEIGHT: 70-120 lbs
REPRODUCTION: Female cheetahs are sexually mature at 20 to 24 months. The mating period lasts from one day up to a week.
GESTATION: The female’s gestation period is 90 to 95 days, after which she will give birth to a litter of up to 6 cubs. She will find a quiet, hidden spot in the tall grass, under a low tree, in thick underbrush, or in a clump of rock. Cheetah cubs weigh between 9 to 15 ounces when born.
DIET: (Small antelope, young of large antelope, warthog, hare, and game birds.
ACTIVE: Diurnal
STATUS: Endangered

NOTES:

• There is an estimated 9000 to 12000 cheetahs remaining in the wild.
• Cheetahs are losing their habitats as the human population increases.
• A running cheetah can leap five times the length of its body in a single stride.
• It is the world’s fastest land animal and is capable of reaching speeds of 70mph, but can run only 400 to 600 yards before its exhausted.
• They can reach top speed in 3 seconds.
• Often confused with leopards, but cheetahs have solid black spots, whereas leopards have black circles.
• Males and females look very similar, but males are slightly bigger and have a larger head.
• Cheetah cubs can retract their claws for the first 15 weeks, but lose this ability as they become adults.
• Cheetahs adapt to their environment. Even though they come from the warmth of Africa, these cats easily adapt to colder climates as long as they have a warm place to go.
• Even though cheetahs are considered “big cats,�? they cannot roar.
• At one time cheetahs were known as “hunting leopards�? and used by man to bring down game.
• The cheetah’s flexible spine, oversized liver, enlarged heart, wide nostrils, increased lung capacity, and thin muscular body make this cat the swiftest hunter in Africa. Covering 7-8 meters in a stride, with only one foot touching the ground at a time, the cheetah can reach a speech of 110 km/hour in seconds. At two points in the stride, no feet touch the ground.

Last Update:Wednesday, May 11, 2005 at 13:06:00