Cheetah Acinonyx jubatus
Cheetah
Physiology
The
cheetah is an animal that is perfectly built for speed. It has long, slender but
powerful legs; a flexible spine; a collar bone that is greatly reduced in size
and narrow almost vertical shoulder blades. All these arrangemts lengthen the
cheetahs stride and allow it to cover a great distance with each stride. Narrow
and hard padded paws with non retractable claws, (a feature unique among the big
cats), gives the cheetah greater traction and ability to turn quickly while
remaining upright during the hunt.
Although the cheetah is blessed with mind blowing speed, it has not come without a cost. The survival chances of any cheetah depend upon its ability to run down other animals that themselves can reach very high speeds. Thus, a cheetah will probably starve if it is injured while hunting or fighting to keep its quarry. Because of this, cheetahs will readily abandon their kills to more powerful carnivores, such as lions, hyenas or leopards. In addition, the cheetah will tend not to hunt large animals due to the substantial risk of injury from such a battle. With small canine teeth it does not have the necessary tools anyway to end the struggle quickly with the typical feline neck bite. It must hunt smaller prey and therefore, kill more frequently than other predators. Unlike other big cats the cheetah cannot roar, but, it does emit high pitched yelps and barks, as well as bird like chirruping noises.
Social
System
Female cheetahs hunt alone while it is not uncommon for male cheetahs to form
family groups and thus tackle slightly larger prey than the cheetah would
normally take when hunting alone. The range of the male cheetah is much larger
than that of the female since the female must remain in close proximity to her
young at all times.
The average litter size for the cheetah is between two and four cubs and the
survival rate for cubs is poor. Cubs that do survive are able to fend for
themselves after about 18 months.
The male cheetah in particular is intolerant of other males who may intrude on
his territory and thus he sprays urine widely about his range to signpost that
he is boss here.
Diet
The genetic make up of the cheetah, with its small teeth, long limbs and lightly
muscled build, prevents it from defending its kills from more sturdy predators
such as lions, leopard, hyenas and wild dogs. Cheetahs also hunt alone and their
ability to catch fleet footed prey depends on them being in tip-top condition at
all times. Unlike lions, hyenas and wild dogs cheetahs cannot depend on support
from a "clan" system if they are injured while hunting. If cheetahs
are badly injured and cannot hunt, they starve.
These factors lead cheetahs to hunt medium to small sized ungulates such as
Thompson's gazelle (pictured right), Grant's gazelle (bottom right), impala,
springbuck and sometimes the young of wildebeest amd zebra. Since the cheetah
expends so much enemy on the chase, it frequently does not have the energy or
strength to struggle with a large animal after it has been run down.
