Cheetahs belong to the family of cats. They are spotted beautiful animals. Cheetahs eat meat and are famous for the great speed with which they run to capture their prey. These animals are not much heavy means they do not put on weight because weight cannot let them run fast. Let us know more about cheetahs.
1. Fastest mammal
Cheetah is the fastest mammal on earth. It has spotted body, with black spots on it. It has tall and slim build with which it can run fats. The skin of the cheetah provides in camouflage against its prey. They do not have paw nail like that of their cousins.
2. The origin of its name
Cheetahs got their name from the Hindi language. This word is derived from the Hindi word “Chita”, which means the spotted one. Hence the name suits it best.
3. Species
Cheetah is given the biological name acnonyx jubatus, this is soul specie of its genus. There were other species but they are extinct now. There are five subspecies of cheetah in world. Four are found in Africa and one is found in Iran.
4. Their habitat
Cheetahs are found in Africa and Asia only. They live in grass fields, forests and desert like plains. These places provide them the best camouflage. They eat small animals are rodents.
5. Height and weight
A fully grown cheetah is 2.3 to 2.8 feet long in height while the weight of an adult cheetah is between 75 to 150 pounds.
6. General facts
Male cheetahs live in small groups in wild, while female cheetah lives alone. She gives birth to utmost six cubs. The adult cheetah in full health can take the speed of up to 60 miles per hour. They were trained for hunting before 3000 BC.
7. Cheetahs are endangered
Like animal species of cat family, cheetahs also join the group of endangered species. The cause of the threats to their lives are the shrinking of their natural habitats, they deforestation and the hunting.
8. Vulnerable
The international union of conservation of nature has classed them as vulnerable species. This is so because there is a sharp decline in their number in last few decades.
9. Life span
Despite of their fast speed, and the qualities they enjoy, bestowed by the nature, cheetah has a short life span. They live only up to 12 years in wild. Cages may add some more years in their lives but wild place is what suits the animals best.
10. No natural enemies
Cheetahs have no natural enemies in the wild unlike many other animals. They are often confused with leopards.