This Week's Featured Animal! 5/10 - 5/16

This week's featured animal was a little hard to choose. But I finally settled for one. The cheetah. After all, Wildlife Safari is getting a lot of publicity and excitement after their newest addition, Pancake, was born about 8 weeks ago.

An image of Pancake

Photo ©2015 Peggy A. Rowe-Snyder

Cheetahs are carnivores, and are healthiest in captivity when fed a diet of raw carcasses. They aren't very big compared to some of the better known large cats. They are smaller than cougars! They can purr, chirp, and meow. But they are incapable of roaring, due to a difference in their throats from a lion or tiger. Unlike the lion or tiger, they are capable of purring while breathing in and out, like a domestic housecat.

These guys can live 10-12 years in the wild, and are about 77 - 143 pounds. They are considered Vulnerable on the ICUN Red List. These guys, at top speed, can go about 60 mph. They can go from 0 to that speed in less than three seconds, but they can't keep that speed for very long. Otherwise, they get overheated.

Cheetahs are most active during the day, and have excellent eyesight for daytime hunting. HOwever, their vision is not the best at night. They are also at risk of being killed by larger predators such as lions or hyenas if they are active at night. They also usually eat their kills very fast, so that there isn't as much for other predators to steal. Their kills are stolen very often by scavengers or even other predators. Only about half of their hunts are successful, and last 20-60 seconds.

Cheetahs only really need to drink once every 3-4 days, compared to the many times we humans have to drink. Litters consist generally of 2-3 cubs, and will stay with their mother for up to 2 and 1/2 years! Almost all of that time is spent learning, with the 1st year also having lots of playtime. After leaving their mother, male cheetahs will often live in groups with their littermates until they are older and more confident. Pregnancy will generally last about 3 months.

In 1900, there were over 100000 cheetahs living in the range that they used to live. Now, there are about 9000-12000 cheetahs in the wild. There is a small population of 200 cheetahs, in small groups, scattered throughout Iran.  

Sources:

• http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/cheetah/
• http://www.defenders.org/cheetah/basic-facts