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Cheetah

Cheetahs have a light head and a small sturdy/light body ,which is built for speed which makes the fastest land mammal!The cheetah's main prey is the gazelle!Even though the cheetah is the fastest land mammal doesn't mean it will always catch it's prey,sometimes the gazelle does twists and turns and gets away!

Habits
The male and female have different lifestyles. The female spends up to 20 months looking after her cubs. She lives a solitary life. She is not aggressive or territorial. The male is rarely solitary. He lives and hunts in an all-male group of 4-5. The group may be brothers from the same litter that stayed together. Very territorial, each male group marks its boundaries with urine. If other males go on to another groups territory, fights occur and sometimes resulting in death.

Breeding
Cubs can be born at any time of the year. After mating the male leaves the female to take care of the cubs. When the cubs are born they are blind and helpless for 11 days. Once they're able to open their eyes, their mother moves them to a different den every now and then. These moves ensure a clean den, and limits the risk of predators, such as lions, sniffing out the young cubs.

Food and Feeding
The cheetah preys on hoofed animals such as impala and gazelle, and sometimes hares and rodents. Most big cats lie, wait and pounce when its prey is within range, but the cheetahs hunting technique is different. First, the cheetah stalks the herd. At the right moment it shows itself and panics the animals into running. The cheetah follows at high speed, usually catching up to its prey within a minute.If forced to run longer the cheetah gives up. The cheetah usually hunts during the day when other predators are asleep. This is probably because the cheetah is easily frightened off its food-even vultures can force a cheetah to abandon its kill.The cheetah often drags its prey to a safe place.

Key Facts

Sizes
Length:Head and body up to 5 ft. Tail up to 2 ft.
Weight:100-130 lb

Breeding
Mating season:Throughout the year
Gestation:90-95 days
Litter size:Up to 8 cubs

Lifestyle
Habit:Female solitary; male lives in small groups
Diet:Impala, gazelle;also hares, rodents, sometimes larger prey such as zebra
Lifespan:About 12 years in wild, more in captivity

Related Species
An endangered subspecies of the cheetah, Acinonyx jubatus venatiecus lives in Asia

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