Cheetah

Cheetahs mainly eat gazelles, but they also hunt smaller animals like hares, birds, and other hooved animals. Unlike many other predators in Africa, cheetahs rarely scavenge for food.

At the Zoo, cheetahs eat a specialized ground carnivore diet, raw chicken, and bones for fasting days and dental health. They have fasting days to imitate what happens in the wild when a cheetah might not catch food for a day. For entertainment and enrichment, they also get rabbits to eat.

Historically, cheetahs were found all over Africa and southwestern Asia, including the Arabian Peninsula and central India. Today, cheetahs only occupy about 9% of their former range. Most of them are now in southern and eastern Africa, with a tiny population still existing in Iran.

Cheetahs are found in many different habitats, like grasslands, savannahs, thickly vegetated areas, and even mountains. They do best in places that have wide open spaces and plenty of animals to eat.

Cheetah cubs face many dangers in the wild. Their predators include lions, leopards, hyenas, painted dogs, and even eagles. However, adult cheetahs are quicker and have few predators due to their incredible speed.

Research shows that cheetahs have very little genetic diversity. This low variation may be because of inbreeding in their history. As a result, many cheetah cubs do not survive, and some adults may have health problems. This genetic issue makes it harder for cheetahs to adapt to changes in their environment.

The cheetah population is also struggling due to the growing human population in Africa. As people expand into new areas, cheetah habitats are shrinking, and their prey is becoming harder to find. With fewer animals to hunt, cheetahs sometimes eat farmers' goats to survive. This action can lead to conflicts, with farmers sometimes shooting cheetahs to protect their livestock, even if the cheetahs are not threatening their herds.

The cheetah has a tan or light brown coat covered in black spots. These spots help the cheetah blend in while hunting or hiding. Its belly is white and has no spots, while its tail has spots that form dark rings at the end, usually with a fluffy white tip. Male cheetahs are slightly bigger than females, but it is hard to tell them apart just by looking. There are long, black lines on each side of the cheetah’s nose, extending from the corner of its eyes to its mouth. These lines help reduce the sun's glare, acting like natural sunglasses that improve the cheetah's vision.

Newborn cheetah cubs have dark fur with spots that are hard to see. They also have long, grayish hair called a mantle that runs from their heads down to their tails. This dark fur and mantle help the cubs stay hidden in shadows and grasslands. As the cubs grow, the mantle thins out and fades away by the time they are two years old.

Cheetahs are the fastest land animals and have bodies designed for speed. They have slender bodies and small heads, which make them aerodynamic and help them move quickly. Their spines are flexible, and their special hip and shoulder joints allow their powerful legs to extend farther with each stride, reaching up to 20 to 25 feet. While sprinting, there are two moments in each stride when no feet are touching the ground—this happens when the cheetah is fully extended and then all feet are tucked together. When they reach their top speed, cheetahs can take about three strides per second.

Cheetahs have short, blunt claws that do not retract fully, which helps them grip the ground like cleats, providing traction while running. Their paws are less rounded compared to other cats, and the pads on their feet are hard like tire treads, which gives them even more grip. A cheetah's long, strong tail acts like a stabilizer, helping them keep balance during fast turns and stops. Inside, cheetahs have large hearts and lungs that efficiently deliver oxygen-rich blood to their active muscles. Their nostrils are enlarged to take in more oxygen when running, allowing their breathing rate to increase from about 60 breaths per minute to a remarkable 150!

Male cheetahs can live alone or in groups with their brothers, known as coalitions. These coalitions protect their territories fiercely while looking for females to mate with. On the other hand, female cheetahs are usually solitary and only come together with males when it is time to mate or when raising their cubs.

After about 95 days of being pregnant, a female cheetah can give birth to up to eight cubs, but typically, she has four to five cubs in a litter. When they are born, the cubs have closed eyes and rely completely on their mother. The mother raises them alone. The young cheetahs start exploring after about 12 to 13 days, and their eyes open a little earlier than that. As their first teeth come in, they begin to eat solid food and stop drinking their mother's milk between three and six months old. The first year and a half of a cub's life is very important because they learn how to hunt, avoid dangers, and survive on their own. After this time, the mother leaves her cubs, and the siblings stay together for another six months. When they are around two years old, the female siblings will leave the group, but the young male cheetahs can stay together for life.

Cheetahs communicate in several ways, including vocalizations such as purring, bleating, barking, growling, hissing, and high-pitched chirping. They cannot roar.

Cheetahs mark their territory by urinating in specific spots or rubbing their cheeks and chins against things. The saliva they produce can also carry chemical information, similar to what is found in their urine. This way of marking helps them know where they have been and avoid crossing paths with other cheetahs.

Unlike most cats, cheetahs are most active during the day. They like to hunt in the early morning and late afternoon. Instead of using their sense of smell, cheetahs depend a lot on their sharp eyesight. They often watch their surroundings from high places, like the top of a termite mound, to spot their prey.