Amazing Wild Animals: Cheetah

Cheetahs are in the big cat family and mainly live in eastern to southwestern Africa. Cheetahs are the fastest animals on the land and can reach the speeds of 70mph. They hunt during the day in open grasslands where their running ability is an advantage. With their keen eye sight and camouflage spots and their speed they make excellent hunters. Their hunts usally consist of the cheetahs stalking the prey until it gets within 50 meters of it then chases it at full sped. The chases usally last less then a minute. It leaves the cheetah exaused and vulenrable. Cheetahs mostly hunt gazelle, but will also eat hares, other kinds of antelope, warthogs, and birds.

Cheetahs are often are mistaken for leopards because of the spots on their coat. Cheetahs can be told apart from leopards by the black marks running down from their eyes which are called teardrops. Cheetah cubs will stay with their mother for one and a half to two years. The male cubs will stick together and the females will go off on their own. Cheetahs have the life expectancy of ten to twelve years in the wild.

Cheetahs are on the endangered species list! there is only about 10,000 of them left. The main reason to their dwindling numbers is human predators. Farmers kill cheetahs because they are a threat to their live stock. Also their grasslands are going away because people are building new settlements. Poachers also kill cheetahs for their pelts.