Cheetahs

1
Cheetahs
2
(No Transcript)
3
Diet
4

• The cheetah eats Thompsons gazelle, Grants
  gazelle, impala, antelope, and other hoofed
  animals.
• They catch their prey by stalking them until they
  are 50-100 yards away, and when they least expect
  it, they jump out and chase them down.
• Once their prey is caught they use the
  suffocation method.
• The cheetah hunts during late morning and early
  evening to avoid the hyena and lion.
• The cheetahs chances of catching its prey is
  70.
• Cheetahs are very different from other
  carnivores, because they will only eat there kill
  fresh.

5
Thompsons Gazelle
Impala
Grants Gazelle
Impala
6
(No Transcript)
7
Appearence
8

• The cheetah is the most dog-like feline
• They are adapted for running fast and can run up
  to 70 mph.
• They can only run 400 yards before their body
  over heats and their muscles get tired and
  produce lactic acid from their exhaustion.

9

• In length, the cheetah is 44-60 in. and the tail
  is 26-36 in.
• The average male cheetah weighs 94 lbs, and the
  average female cheetah weighs 84 lbs.
• Cheetahs have thin legs, a body shaped as a
  greyhound, a very long thin tail (which helps
  keep their balance when running). They have a
  yellowish-tawny-golden colored coat, solid black
  spots, as well as a thick black stripe from the
  inside of their eyes, and small canine teeth.

10
Location
11

• Cheetahs live in the savannas of Africa.
• They live everywhere in Africa south of the
  Sahara Desert, and east of the rainforests in
  Central Africa
• The largest cheetah population that exists is in
  Namibia where about 2,000-3,000 live.

12
(No Transcript)
13
Reproduction and Life Cycle
14

• Female Cheetahs reach sexual maturity at 2-3
  years old, and for males it is at 3 years old.
• Mating takes place year-round, but mostly during
  the rainy season (November-May.)
• Cheetahs are mating-induced ovulators, which
  means that they do not ovulate until after
  mating.
• After 90-98 days the cheetah gives birth to 1-3
  cubs in a burrow made of thick grass.
• Cheetah cubs weigh 8.8-10 oz when they are first
  born.

15

• For 8 weeks the cubs stay in the burrow where the
  mother moves her cubs constantly to keep away
  from predators.
• The cubs have long, fuzzy, gray fur until they
  are about 3 months old. Their hair gradually
  falls out and then they begin to have sleek
  spotted coats.
• Cubs are weaned at 4 months old but still stay
  with their mother where they learn to hunt and
  pick up life skills.
• Infant mortality rate before 2 months of age is
  71, and from 2 months-1 year of age is 95.
  This high infant mortality rate is due to
  starvation, disease, and predation by the lions,
  baboons, and hyenas.

16
(No Transcript)
17

• The cheetahs that do end up surviving take
  approximately a year and a half to mature.
• The mother cheetah will not breed again until all
  her cubs leave her or die.
• Cheetahs can live up to 15 years in the wild.

18
(No Transcript)
19
Social Life
20

• Cheetahs are most active during the day. This is
  so they can avoid the lion and hyena (which are
  nocturnal animals.)
• Female cheetahs roam alone while males are found
  in packs from 2-5.

• Mostly the only time female and male cheetahs
  are found together is while they are mating.

21
(No Transcript)
22

• The packs of cheetahs that do stick together hunt
  and live with each other. It is much easier to
  hunt in groups. This way they have a better
  chance to keep a territory and find mates.

• There are some cases where both sexs live in
  coalitions together, and it works better then
  hunting and living alone.

23

• The cheetah marks his/her territory by urinating
  in that cetain area.
• Cheetahs communicate with each other not by
  meowing, but chirping or making squeaking noises.

• The chirp is what a mother cheetah uses to call
  her cubs.
• They also use body language to describe how they
  feel. Ex. Flattened ears and bared teeth mean
  aggression.

24
(No Transcript)
25
Threats
26

• All cheetahs are endangered due to the hunting of
  their skins.
• Also from the plaque that came over Africa (in
  the last ice age) which left only a few thousand
  cheetahs.
• Sense the low population of cheetahs, the ones
  that survived are the ones that produced the
  cheetahs that live now. It has been discovered
  by Biologist that all cheetahs have a like
  patterns which proves they are all related.

27

• Many captive breeding programs have not been
  successful, and sense cheetahs will not readily
  breed in captivity, the offspring usually died.
• Cheetahs are very threatened by lions. The lion
  will kill adult cheetahs and or kill the cubs.
• The lions and hyenas also steal what the cheetah
  catches, and sense they are bigger than the
  cheetah, the cheetah gives up its hard earned
  kill.

28
(No Transcript)
29
THE END
Thank you, and goodbye! )
30
Enrichment