All you need to know about the Cheetah
The cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus; /ˈtʃiːtə/) is a large cat that occurs in Africa and central Iran. It is a lightly built, spotted cat with several adaptations for speed. It is characterised by a small rounded head, a short snout, black tear-like facial streaks, a deep chest, long thin legs and a long tail.
Cheetahs typically reach 67–94 cm (26–37 in) at the shoulder, and the head-and-body length is between 1.1 and 1.5 m (3.6 and 4.9 ft). Adults typically weigh between 20 and 65 kg (44 and 143 lb).
The coat is typically tawny to creamy white or pale buff and is mostly covered with evenly spaced, solid black spots. The cheetah is the fastest land animal. Estimates of the maximum speed vary from 80 to 128 km/h (50 to 80 mph). Four subspecies are recognised.
More gregarious than many other cats, the cheetah has three main social groups—females and their cubs, male 'coalitions' and solitary males. While females lead a nomadic life searching for prey in large home ranges, males are more sedentary and may instead establish much smaller territories in areas with plentiful prey and access to females.
The cheetah is active mainly during the day and hunting is the major activity, with peaks during dawn and dusk. It feeds on small- to medium-sized prey weighing mostly below 40 kg (88 lb), and prefers medium-sized ungulates such as impala, springbok and Thomson's gazelles.
The cheetah will typically stalk its prey to within 60–70 m (200–230 ft), charge towards it, trip it during the chase and bite its throat to suffocate it to death.
Breeding occurs throughout the year; after a gestation of nearly three months a litter of typically three to five cubs is born; cheetah cubs are highly vulnerable to predation by other large carnivores such as hyenas and lions. Weaning happens at around four months, and cubs are independent by around 20 months of age.
The cheetah occurs in a variety of habitats such as savannahs in the Serengeti, arid mountain ranges in the Sahara and hilly desert terrain in Iran.
The cheetah is threatened by habitat loss, conflict with humans and poaching. Earlier ranging throughout most of Sub Saharan Africa and extending eastward into the Middle East up to the Indian subcontinent, the cheetah is now distributed in mainly small, fragmented populations in central Iran and southern, eastern and northwestern Africa.
In 2016 the global cheetah population was estimated at around 7,100 individuals in the wild; it is listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN.
Cheetahs have a long history of domestication by humans, primarily due to their hunting prowess. They have been widely depicted in art, literature, advertising, and animation.
Cheetah Documentary Film
Characteristics
The cheetah is a lightly built, spotted cat characterised by a small rounded head, a short snout, black tear-like facial streaks, a deep chest, long thin legs and a long tail. Its slender, canine form is highly adapted for speed, and contrasts sharply with the robust build of the big cats (genus Panthera).
Cheetahs typically reach 67–94 cm (26–37 in) at the shoulder, and the head-and-body length is between 1.1 and 1.5 m (3.6 and 4.9 ft).
The weight can vary with age, health, location, sex and subspecies; adults typically range between 20 and 65 kg (44 and 143 lb). Cubs born in the wild weigh 150–300 g (5.3–10.6 oz) at birth, while those born in captivity tend to be larger and weigh around 500 g (18 oz).
The largest cheetahs occur in southern Africa, and are only slightly bigger than eastern African cheetahs. Saharan cheetahs show particularly canine facial features.
Cheetahs are sexually dimorphic, with males larger and heavier than females, but not to the extent seen in other large cats.
The coat is typically tawny to creamy white or pale buff (darker in the mid-back portion).
The chin, throat and underparts of the legs and the belly are white and devoid of markings.
The rest of the body is covered with around 2,000 evenly spaced, oval or round solid black spots, each measuring roughly 3–5 cm (1.2–2.0 in).
Each cheetah has a distinct pattern of spots that can be used to uniquely identify individuals.
Besides the clearly visible spots, there are other faint, irregular black marks on the coat.
Newly born cubs are covered in fur with an unclear pattern of spots that gives them a dark appearance – pale white above and nearly black on the underside.
The hair is mostly short and often coarse, but the chest and the belly are covered in soft fur; the fur of king cheetahs has been reported to be silky.
There is a short, rough mane, covering at least 8 cm (3.1 in) along the neck and the shoulders; this feature is more prominent in males. The mane starts out as a cape of long, loose blue to grey hair in juveniles.
Melanistic cheetahs are rare and have been seen in Zambia and Zimbabwe.
In 1877–1878, Sclater described two partially albino specimens from South Africa. A tabby cheetah was photographed in Kenya in 2012.
The head is small and more rounded compared to other big cats.
The ears are small, short and rounded; they are tawny at the base and on the edges and marked with black patches on the back. The eyes are set high and have round pupils.
The whiskers, shorter and fewer than those of other felids, are fine and inconspicuous.
The pronounced tear streaks (or malar stripes), unique to the cheetah, originate from the corners of the eyes and run down the nose to the mouth.
The role of these streaks is not well understood – they may protect the eyes from the sun's glare (a helpful feature as the cheetah hunts mainly during the day), or they could be used to define facial expressions.
The exceptionally long and muscular tail, with a bushy white tuft at the end, measures 60–80 cm (24–31 in).
While the first two-thirds of the tail are covered in spots, the final part is marked with four to six dark rings or stripes.
The cheetah can be easily confused with the leopard, but the leopard has rosettes instead of spots and lacks tear streaks.
Moreover, the cheetah is slightly taller than the leopard. The serval resembles the cheetah in physical build, but is significantly smaller, has a shorter tail and its spots fuse to form stripes on the back.
Speed and Acceleration
The cheetah is the fastest land animal.
Estimates of the maximum speed attained range from 80 to 128 km/h (50 to 80 mph).
A commonly quoted value is 112 km/h (70 mph), recorded in 1957, but this measurement is disputed.[91][92] In 2012, an 11-year-old cheetah (named Sarah) from the Cincinnati Zoo made a world record by running 100 m (330 ft) in 5.95 seconds over a set run, recording a recorded maximum speed of 98 km/h (61 mph).
Contrary to the common belief that cheetahs hunt by simply chasing the prey at high speeds, the findings of two studies in 2013 observing hunting cheetahs using GPS collars show that cheetahs hunt at speeds much lower than the highest recorded for them during most of the chase, interspersed with a few short bursts (lasting only for seconds) when they attain peak speeds. In one of the studies, the average speed recorded during the high speed phase was 53.64 km/h (33.3 mph), or within the range 41.4–65.88 km/h (25.7–40.9 mph) including error.
The highest recorded value was 93.24 km/h (57.9 mph).
The researchers suggested that a hunt consists of two phases—an initial fast acceleration phase when the cheetah tries to catch up with the prey, followed by slowing down as it closes in to it, the deceleration varying by the prey in question.
The peak acceleration observed was 2.5 m (8.2 ft) per square second, while the peak deceleration value was 7.5 m (25 ft) per square second. Speed and acceleration values for the hunting cheetah may be different from those for the non-hunting because, while engaged in the chase, the cheetah is more likely to be twisting and turning and may be running through vegetation.
The speeds attained by the cheetah may be only slightly greater than those achieved by the pronghorn 88.5 km/h (55.0 mph) and the springbok 88 km/h (55 mph), but the cheetah's exceptional acceleration gives it a greater probability of succeeding in the chase.
One stride of a galloping cheetah measures 4 to 7 m (13 to 23 ft); the stride length and the number of jumps increases with speed.
During more than half of the time of the sprint, the cheetah has all four limbs in the air, increasing the stride length.
Running cheetahs can retain up to 90% of the heat generated during the chase. A 1973 study suggested the length of the sprint is limited by excessive build-up of body heat when the body temperature reaches 40–41 °C (104–106 °F). However, a 2013 study recorded the average temperature of cheetahs after hunts to be 38.6 °C (101.5 °F), suggesting high temperatures need not cause hunts to be abandoned.
Evolution
The cheetah's closest relatives are the cougar (Puma concolor) and the jaguarundi (Herpailurus yagouaroundi).
These three species together form the Puma lineage, one of the eight lineages of Felidae; the Puma lineage diverged from the rest 6.7 mya. The sister group of the Puma lineage is a clade of smaller Old World cats that includes the genera Felis, Otocolobus and Prionailurus.
The oldest Acinonyx fossils, excavated in eastern and southern Africa, date to 3.5–3 mya; the earliest known specimen from South Africa is from the lowermost deposits of the Silderberg Grotto (Sterkfontein).
Though incomplete, these fossils indicate forms larger but less cursorial than the modern cheetah. Fossil remains from Europe are limited to a few Middle Pleistocene specimens from Hundsheim (Austria) and Mosbach Sands (Germany).
Cheetah-like cats are known from as late as 10,000 years ago from the Old World.
The giant cheetah (A. pardinensis), significantly larger and slower compared to the modern cheetah, occurred in Eurasia and eastern and southern Africa in the Villafranchian period (roughly 3.8–1.9 mya). In the Middle Pleistocene a smaller cheetah, A. intermedius, ranged from Europe to China.
The modern cheetah appeared in Africa around 1.9 mya; its fossil record is restricted to Africa.
Extinct North American cheetah-like cats had historically been classified in Felis, Puma or Acinonyx; two such species, Felis studeri and F. trumani, were considered to be closer to the puma than the cheetah despite their close similarities to the latter.
Palaeontologist Daniel Adams thus proposed a new subgenus under Acinonyx, Miracinonyx, for the North American cheetah-like cats, noting that North American and Old World cheetah-like cats may have had a common ancestor and that the cheetah might have originated in North America instead of Eurasia.
A 1990 cladistic study suggested the differences between Acinonyx and Miracinonyx were more on a generic level, and elevated Miracinonyx to genus rank.
Miracinonyx species greatly resembled modern cheetahs; both Acinonyx and Miracinonyx developed features such as a reduced head mass and a wider nasal passage that could have facilitated oxygen inhalation and remarkably improved the speed and length of runs.
However, subsequent research has shown that Miracinonyx is phylogenetically closer to the cougar than the cheetah.
The similarities were attributed to convergent evolution in response to similar environmental stimuli; for instance, it is possible that Miracinonyx species were adapted to prey on pronghorns, which appear to have evolved traits similar to those of Old World gazelles, which Old World cheetah-like cats preyed on.
The three species of the Puma lineage may have had a common ancestor during the Miocene (roughly 8.25 mya).
North American cheetahs possibly migrated to Asia via the Bering Strait, then dispersed southward to Africa through Eurasia at least 100,000 years ago; some authors have expressed doubt over the occurrence of cheetah-like cats in North America, and instead suppose the modern cheetah to have evolved from Asian populations that eventually spread to Africa.
Cheetahs are believed to have experienced two population bottlenecks that greatly lowered the genetic variability in populations – one 100,000 years ago coinciding with the migration from North America to Asia, and the second 10,000–12,000 years ago in Africa due to the Late Pleistocene extinction.
Distribution and Habitat
Cheetahs appear to be less selective in habitat choice than other felids, and inhabit a variety of ecosystems; areas with greater availability of prey, good visibility and minimal chances of encountering larger predators are preferred.
Although they do not prefer tropical forests and montane regions, cheetahs have been reported at elevations as high as 4,000 m (13,000 ft).
An open area with some cover, such as diffused bushes, is probably ideal for the cheetah because it needs to stalk and pursue its prey over a distance.
This also minimises the risk of encountering larger carnivores.
Unlike other big cats in Africa, the cheetah tends to occur in low densities typically between 0.3 and 3 adults per 100 km2 (39 sq mi)—these values are 10–30% of those reported for leopards and lions.
Cheetahs in eastern and southern Africa occur mostly in savannas such as the Kalahari and Serengeti.
In central, northern and western Africa cheetahs inhabit arid mountain ranges and valleys; in the harsh climate of the Sahara cheetahs prefer high mountains, which receive more rainfall than the surrounding desert.
The vegetation and water resources in these mountains supports antelopes.
Iranian cheetahs occur in hilly terrain of deserts at elevation up to 2,000–3,000 m (6,600–9,800 ft), where annual precipitation is generally below 100 mm (3.9 in); the primary vegetation in these areas is thinly distributed shrubs, less than 1 m (3.3 ft) tall.
Behaviour and Ecology
Cheetahs are active mainly during the day, whereas other carnivores such as leopards and lions are active mainly at night; These larger carnivores can kill cheetahs and steal their kills; hence the diurnal tendency of cheetahs helps them avoid larger predators in areas where they are sympatric, such as the Okavango Delta.
In areas where the cheetah is the major predator (such as farmlands in Botswana and Namibia), activity tends to increase at night.
This may also happen in highly arid regions such as the Sahara, where temperatures can reach 43 °C (109 °F) during daytime.
The lunar cycle can also influence the routine of cheetahs—activity might increase on moonlit nights as prey can be sighted easily, though this comes with the danger of encountering larger predators.
Hunting is the major activity throughout the day, with peaks during dawn and dusk.
Groups rest in grassy clearings after dusk. Cheetahs often inspect their vicinity at observation points such as elevations to check for prey or larger carnivores; even while resting, they take turns at keeping a lookout.
Hunting and Diet
The cheetah is a carnivore that hunts small- to medium-sized prey weighing 20 to 60 kg (44 to 132 lb), but mostly below 40 kg (88 lb). The primary prey are medium-sized ungulates; some ungulates are the major diet in certain areas, such as Dama and Dorcas gazelles in the Sahara, impala in the eastern and southern African woodlands, springbok in the arid savannas to the south and Thomson's gazelle in the Serengeti.
Smaller antelopes such as the common duiker are a common prey in the southern Kalahari. Larger ungulates are typically avoided, though nyala, whose males weigh around 120 kg (260 lb), were found to be the major prey in a study in the Phinda Game Reserve. In Namibia cheetahs are the major predators of livestock.
The diet of the Asiatic cheetah consists of livestock as well as chinkara, desert hare, goitered gazelle, urial and wild goats; in India cheetahs used to prey mostly on blackbuck.
There are no records of cheetahs killing human beings.
Cheetahs in the Kalahari have been reported feeding on citron melons.
Prey preferences and success in hunting vary with the age, sex and number of cheetahs involved in the hunt and on the vigilance of the prey.
Generally only groups of cheetahs (coalitions or mother and cubs) will try to kill larger prey; mothers with cubs especially look out for larger prey and tend to be more successful than females without cubs.
Individuals on the periphery of the prey herd are common targets; vigilant prey that would react fast on seeing the cheetah are not preferred.
Cheetahs hunt primarily throughout the day, sometimes with peaks at dawn and dusk; they tend to avoid larger predators, such as the lion, that are primarily nocturnal.
Cheetahs in the Sahara and Maasai Mara (Kenya) hunt after sunset to escape the high temperatures of the day.
Cheetahs use their vision to hunt instead of their sense of smell; they keep a lookout for prey from resting sites or low branches.
The cheetah will stalk its prey, trying to conceal itself in cover, and approach as close as possible, often within 60 to 70 m (200 to 230 ft) of the prey (or even farther for less alert prey). Alternatively the cheetah can lay hidden in cover and wait for the prey to come nearer.
A stalking cheetah assumes a partially crouched posture, with the head lower than the shoulders; it will move slowly and turn still at times.
In areas of minimal cover the cheetah will approach within 200 m (660 ft) of the prey and start the chase. The chase typically lasts a minute; in a 2013 study the length of chases averaged 173 m (568 ft), and the longest run measured 559 m (1,834 ft).
The cheetah can give up the chase if it is detected by the prey early or if it can not make a kill quickly. Cheetahs kill their prey by tripping it during the chase by hitting its rump with the forepaw or using the strong dewclaw to knock the prey off its balance, bringing it down with much force and sometimes even breaking some of its limbs.
Cheetahs can decelerate extremely fast towards the end of the hunt, slowing down from 93 km/h (58 mph) to 23 km/h (14 mph) in just three strides, and can easily follow any twists and turns the prey makes as it tries to flee.
To kill medium- to large-sized prey the cheetah bites the prey's throat, maintaining the bite for around five minutes, within which the prey stops struggling. A bite on the nape of the neck or the snout (and sometimes on the skull) suffices to kill smaller prey.
Cheetahs have an average hunting success rate of 25–40%, higher for smaller and more vulnerable prey. Once the hunt is over, the prey is taken near a bush or a tree; the cheetah, highly exhausted after the chase, rests beside the kill and pants heavily for five to 55 minutes.
Meanwhile cheetahs nearby, who did not take part in the hunt, might start feeding on the kill immediately. Groups of cheetah devour the kill peacefully, though minor noises and snapping may be observed.
Cheetahs can consume large quantities of food; a cheetah at the Etosha National Park (Namibia) was found to consume as much as 10 kilograms (22 lb) within two hours.
However on a daily basis a cheetah feeds on around 4 kg (8.8 lb) meat.
Cheetahs, especially mothers with cubs, remain cautious even as they eat, pausing to look around for new prey or for predators who may steal the kill.
Cheetahs move their heads from side to side so that the sharp carnassial teeth effectively tear the flesh, which can then be swallowed without chewing.
They typically begin with the hindquarters, and then progress toward the abdomen and the spine. Ribs are chewed on at the ends, and the limbs are not generally torn apart while eating.
Unless the prey is very small, the skeleton is left almost intact after feeding on the meat. Cheetahs might lose 10−15% of their kills to large carnivores such as hyenas and lions (and grey wolves in Iran).
To defend itself or its prey, a cheetah will hold its body low to the ground and snarl with its mouth wide open, the eyes staring threateningly ahead and the ears folded backward.
This may be accompanied by moans, hisses and growls, and hitting the ground with the forepaws.
Cheetahs have rarely been observed scavenging kills; this may be due to vultures and spotted hyena adroitly capturing and consuming heavy carcasses within a short time.
Communication
The cheetah is a vocal felid with a broad repertoire of calls and sounds; the acoustic features and usage of many of these have been studied in detail.
The vocal characteristics, such as the way they are produced, are often different from those of other cats.
For instance, a study showed that exhalation of air is louder than inhalation in cheetahs, while no such distinction was observed in the domestic cat. Listed below are some of the commonly recorded vocalisations observed in cheetahs:
Chirping: A chirp (or a 'stutter-bark') is an intense bird-like call and lasts less than a second. Cheetahs chirp when they are excited, for instance when gathered around a kill. Other uses include summoning of concealed or lost cubs by the mother, as a form of greeting or courtship between adults. The cheetah's chirp is similar to the soft roar of the lion, and its churr as the latter's loud roar. A similar but louder call ('yelp') that can be heard from up to 2 km (1.2 mi) away; this call is typically used by mothers to locate lost cubs, or by cubs to find their mothers and siblings.
Churring (or churtling): A churr is a shrill, staccato call that can last up to two seconds. Churring and chirping have been noted for their similarity to the soft and loud roars of the lion. It is produced in similar context as chirping, but a study of feeding cheetahs found chirping to be much more common.
Purring: Similar to purring in domestic cats but much louder, it is produced when the cheetah is content, and as a form of greeting or when licking one another. It involves continuous sound production alternating between egressive and ingressive airstreams.
Agnostic sounds: These include bleating, coughing, growling, hissing, meowing and moaning (or yowling). A bleat indicates distress, for instance when a cheetah confronts a predator that has stolen its kill. Growls, hisses and moans are accompanied by multiple, strong hits on the ground with the front paw, during which the cheetah may retreat by a few metres. A meow, though a versatile call, is typically associated with discomfort or irritation.
Other vocalisations: Individuals can make a gurgling noise as part of a close, amicable interaction. A nyam nyam sound may be produced while eating. Apart from chirping, mothers can use a repeated ihn ihn is to gather cubs, and a prr prr is to guide them on a journey. A low-pitched alarm call is used to warn the cubs to stand still. Bickering cubs can let out a 'whirr'—the pitch rises with the intensity of the quarrel, and ends on a harsh note.
Another major means of communication is by scent – the male will often investigate urine-marked places (territories or common landmarks) for a long time by crouching on his forelegs and carefully smelling the place.
Then he will stand close to an elevated spot (such as tree trunks, stumps or rocks) with the tail raised and the penis pointed at the area to be marked; other observing individuals might repeat the ritual.
Females may also show marking behaviour but less prominently than males do. Among females, those in oestrus will show maximum urine-marking, and their excrement can attract males from far off.
In Botswana, cheetahs are frequently captured by ranchers to protect livestock by setting up traps in traditional marking spots; the calls of the trapped cheetah can attract more cheetahs to the place. Touch and visual cues are other ways of signalling in cheetahs.
Social meetings involve mutual sniffing of the oral area, anus and genitals. Individuals will groom one another, lick each other's faces and rub cheeks. However they seldom lean on or rub their flanks against each other.
The tear streaks on the face can sharply define expressions at close range. Mothers use the alternate light and dark rings on the tail to probably signal their cubs to follow them.
Reproduce and life cycle
Cheetahs are induced ovulators, and can breed throughout the year. Females can have their first litter at two to three years of age.
Polyestrous, females an oestrus ("heat") cycle 12 days long on average, but this can vary broadly from three days to a month. A female can conceive again after 17 to 20 months of giving birth, or even sooner if a whole litter is lost.
Males can start breeding at less than two years of age in captivity, but this may be delayed in the wild until the male acquires a territory.
A 2007 study showed that females who gave birth to more litters early in their life often died younger, indicating a trade-off between longevity and yearly reproductive success.
Urine-marking in males can become more pronounced when a female in their vicinity comes into oestrus. Males, sometimes even those in coalitions, fight among one another to secure access to the female. Often one male will eventually win dominance over the others and mate with the female, though a female can mate with different males.
Mating begins with the male approaching the female, who lies down on the ground; individuals often chirp, purr or yelp at this time. No courtship behaviour is observed; the male immediately secures hold of the female's nape and copulation takes place.
The pair then ignore each other, but meet and copulate a few more times three to five everyday for the next two to three days before finally parting ways.
After a gestation of nearly three months, a litter of one to eight cubs is born (though those of three to four cubs are more common). Births takes place at 20–25 minute intervals in a sheltered place such as thick vegetation. The eyes are shut at birth, and open in four to 11 days.
Newborn cubs might spit a lot, and make soft churring noises; they start walking by two weeks. Their nape, shoulders and back are thickly covered with long bluish grey hair, called a 'mantle', that gives them a mohawk-type appearance; this fur is shed as the cheetah grows older.
A study suggested that this mane gives a cheetah cub the appearance of a honey badger, and could act as camouflage from attacks by these badgers or predators that tend to avoid them.
In comparison to other felids, cheetah cubs are highly vulnerable to several predators during the first few weeks of their life.
Mothers keep their cubs hidden in dense vegetation for the first two months and nurse in the early morning. The mother is extremely vigilant at this stage; she stays within 1 km (0.62 mi) of the lair, frequently visits her cubs, moves them every five to six days, and remains with them after dark.
Though she tries to make minimal noise that might give away the location of the cubs to predators, they are often detected and the mother usually can not defend her litter from these predators.
Predation is the leading cause of mortality in cheetah cubs; a study showed that in areas with low density of predators (such as Namibian farmlands) around 70% of the cubs make it beyond the age of 14 months, whereas in areas like the Serengeti National Park, where several large carnivores exist, the survival rate was just 17%.
Deaths also occur from starvation if their mothers abandon them, fires or pneumonia due to exposure to bad weather.
Generation length of the cheetah is six years.
Cubs start coming out of the lair at two months of age, trailing after their mother wherever she goes. Now the mother spends lesser time nursing and brings solid food for the cubs; they initially retreat away from the carcass in fear, but gradually start eating it.
The cubs might purr as the mother licks them clean after the meal. Weaning occurs at four to six months. To train her cubs in hunting, the mother will catch and let go of live prey in front of her cubs. Play behaviour of cubs includes chasing, crouching, pouncing and wrestling; there is plenty of agility, and attacks are seldom lethal.
Playing can improve catching skills in cubs, though the ability to crouch and hide may not develop remarkably.
Cubs as young as six months try to capture small prey like hares and young gazelles. However, they may have to wait until as long as 15 months of age to make a successful kill on their own.
At around 20 months, offspring become independent; mothers might have conceived again by then. Siblings might remain together a few more months before parting ways. While females stay close to their mothers, males move farther off.
The lifespan of wild cheetahs is 14 to 15 years for females, and their reproductive cycle typically ends by 12 years of age; males generally live as long as ten years.
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