Cheetahs Pictures
Cheetahs are fast and furious. Take a look at these beautiful creatures.
Those Are Some Fangs!
The Cheetah cannot roar, unlike other big cats, but does 'yip' when cheetahs attempt to find each another or when a mother tries to locate her cubs. It can be described as high-pitched barking. Cheetahs also 'chur,' which is a noise produced during social meetings. Cheetah growl and this noise is often accompanied by hissing and spitting. Cheetahs emit this noise when they are annoyed or in a dangerous situation. Like their cat counterparts, Cheetahs purr during pleasant social meetings (mostly between cubs and their mothers).
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Fuzzy Cubs
Cubs are also born with a downy underlying fur on their necks, called a mantle, extending to mid-back. This gives them a mane or Mohawk-type appearance. This fur is shed as the cheetah grows older.
Cheetah Cubs
Females give birth to up to nine cubs after a gestation period of 90 to 98 days, although the average litter size is three to five. Cubs weigh from 5 to 10 ounces at birth. Unlike some other cats, the cheetah is born with its characteristic spots.
Cheetah Trio
Males are very sociable and will group together for life, usually with their brothers in the same litter. Males are very territorial. Unlike males and other felines, females do not establish territories. Instead, the area they live in is termed a home range.
Cheetah Fur
The fur of the cheetah is tan with round black spots in order to help camouflage it. The cheetah's black spots measure from 3/4 to 11/4 inches across. There are no spots on its white belly, but the tail has spots, which merge to form four to six dark rings at the end. The cheetah's tail usually ends in a bushy white tuft.
Speed Demons
The cheetah is a poor climber that hunts by speed rather than by stealth. It is the fastest of all land animals and although its fastest speed is unknown, it can reach speeds of more than 65 mph in short bursts up to 500 yards, as well as being able to accelerate from 0 to 70 mph in three seconds, faster than most supercars.
Social Order
Unlike males, females are solitary and tend to avoid each other, though some mother/daughter pairs have been known to continue for small periods of time. The cheetah has a unique, well-structured social order. Females live alone except when they are raising cubs and they raise their cubs on their own.
Cheetah Kiss
The first eighteen months of a cub's life are important, cubs learn many lessons because survival depends on knowing how to hunt wild prey species and avoid other predators. At eighteen months, the mother leaves the cubs, who then form a sibling, or 'sib', group, that will stay together for another six months. At about two years, the female siblings leave the group, and the young males remain together for life. Life span is up to twelve years in wild, but up to twenty years in captivity.
Hunters
The cheetah is a carnivore, eating mostly mammals under 90 pounds. It hunts usually either early in the morning or later in the evening when it is not so hot, but there is still enough light. The cheetah hunts by vision rather than by scent. Prey is stalked to within 30 to 100 feet, then chased. The chase is usually over in less than a minute, and if the cheetah fails to make a quick catch, it will often give up rather than waste energy.
Habitat
The cheetah thrives in areas with vast expanses of land where prey is abundant. In Namibia, it has been found in a variety of habitats, including grasslands, savannahs, dense vegetation, and mountainous terrain. Ninety-five percent live on commercial farms. The cheetah is found in the wild primarily in Africa, but in the past its range extended into India.
