Cheetah
This fantastic African feline was born to run! Its elongated body is adapted to high-speed running, making it the fastest land mammal in the World.
- Height 1,12 - 1,50m
- Weight 40 - 65Kg
- Longevity 19 years
- Diet Meat
- Habitat Savanna
- Reproduction Up to 6 cubs
For more info on classifications status visit:
www.iucnredlist.org
Morphology
Cheetahs are medium-sized. These animals have spotted felids, with a slender body, long thin legs, a deep narrow chest, and a long tail measuring about half the head and body length. Cheetahs have evolved for speed rather than power and aggression.
Behaviour
Females live alone unless they have dependent cubs. Males live in small permanent coalitions of two or three animals throughout their lives, whereas others live alone. Most of these coalitions are composed of littermates. These animals have few vocalizations. Cheetahs hunt by sight, and mainly during the day. They invest at a distance of about 70-100m and run for the catch, they can accelerate from 0 to 96 km/h in just 3 seconds and can reach speeds up to 113 km/h.
Conservation
The Cheetah is considered Vulnerable by the IUCN. Cheetahs are particularly vulnerable to habitat loss and fragmentation as they require much larger areas of land to survive than other carnivore species. This is the primary threat In Eastern, Southern and Western Africa. Conserving viable subpopulations of Cheetahs is likely to require areas of land far above 10,000 km2. Most Cheetah range (76%) is on unprotected lands. Cheetahs living outside protected areas are often threatened by conflict with livestock and game farmers. They may kill livestock in some circumstances and can be killed by farmers in retaliation.
