The Cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) is the fastest living thing on Earth and can reach speeds up to 70mph, that's the speed limit on our motorways! They are wonderfully adapted for speed and an evolutionary arms race to be faster and faster between them and their prey has shaped their form. They are the only cat with non-retractable claws for increased grip and their long tail acts like a rudder helping them to turn. Their barrel-shaped chest and enlarged nasal passages, lungs, and heart help them take in as much oxygen as possible to fuel them in the chase.
Chases are extremely exhausting and cause body temperatures to spike so cheetahs may need up to an hour to get their energy back. During which time they are vulnerable to having their kill stolen. As cheetahs are made for speed not strength they are very vulnerable to other predators such as lions, hyenas, leopards, and others. Predation is biggest problems that cheetah cubs face along with a susceptability to illness though the species low genetic diversity. 90% of cheetah cubs don't survive the first three months.
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| Painting of Toto from Big Cat Diary - he sadly didn't make it |
Cheetahs are not true big cats as they lack a bone meaning they are unable to roar, but they can purr. This was something I heard very loudly when bottlefeeding a pair of cheetah cubs when I was out volunteering at Moholoholo Rehabilitation Centre in South Africa some years ago.
They have tawny fur with simple black spots and distinctive 'tear tracks' running from eye to mouth, They are largely solitary although males may form coalitions of 2-3 to hold territories against other males. They are diurnal predators relying on sight and speed, as such they prefer large open areas of grassland in which to hunt their prey.
Cheetahs used to be a lot more numerous than the estimated 12,400 or so in the wild now and ranged heavily into Asia. In ancient times they were used as hunting companions and were kept as pets by royalty including Egyptian Pharaohs. Indian Emperors, and the likes of Genghis Khan. Now there are only an estimated 40-70 cheetahs left in Asia, in Iran and are threatened by the rise in road-use and mining traffic in the only areas they remain.
One of the biggest problems is the lack of genetic diversity in cheetahs meaning their fertility rates are very low. This is due to a population bottleneck around 1000 years ago which lead to the population becoming extremely inbred. So much so that during skin grafting operations there was a failure to reject the new tissue as foreign, something that occurs in most animals. In fact the stripy and blotchy King Cheetah fur-patterning, although beautiful, is a sign of even lower genetic diversity present in cheetahs.
However this cannot be held entirely responsible for the fall in cheetah populations as this has occurred more recently in the last 100 years or so as farmland has encroached on cheetah habitat. This has led to competition with people for their wild prey. Livestock predation is a concern but cheetahs prefer wild prey when available. So it is important to educate people about this. Whilst I was in Africa the pair of male cubs that I helped bottlefeed were being hand-raised so they could be brought to schools and meet other people. This was to help educate children about cheetahs and hopefully help to protect them in future.
So help bring awareness if you can, be it on twitter or Facebook let people know about International Cheetah Day, and donate if you are able. Cheetahs are so unique and play an important role as predators in the ecosystem. I think it would be such a tragedy if we were to lose them.
Find out more here:
International Cheetah Day
Cheetah Conservation Fund
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