POSTER SERIES
Super fast on their feet, it’s no
surprise cheetahs are successful
in half their attempted kills
T
he fastest land-based animal, the cheetah
(Acinonyx jubatus) can reach a top speed
of 110km/h and can accelerate from 0 to
96km/h in just three seconds. In comparison
to its musclier big cat cousins, the cheetah
is built for speed, weighing only 34 to 54kg.
The cheetah has specialised muscle fibres that allow
for a greater limb swing, enabling sudden increases in
acceleration. It can cover 7m in a single stride. A stride
is defined as all four of the cheetah’s paws taking
their turn to touch the ground. The cheetah will be
suspended above ground twice during the stride.
Cheetahs are also equipped with a strong heart and
lungs, making them capable of breathing 150 times
a minute — twice as fast as a human. Cheetahs are so
efficient at gaining speed that after running for just
400 to 800m they run the risk of overheating and have
to slow down from exhaustion.
HABITAT
Cheetahs were once spread across several continents
but died out in North America, Europe and most
of Asia and Africa because of changes in the
environment that resulted from the Ice Age. Few
survived, restricting genetic diversity and resulting in
higher than normal genetic defects.
The largest populations are across eastern and
southwestern Africa, with only two remaining
strongholds: Namibia/Botswana in southern Africa
and Kenya/Tanzania in east Africa. Cheetahs prefer
to live in open country and grassland.
DIET
As predators, cheetahs predominately chase small
antelope, warthog, springhare and game birds.
Cheetahs’ small stature restricts the size of their prey
TAIL
PURR
The black tip of a
cheetah’s tail is
thought to act as a
signalling device for
cubs to follow their
mother through
long grass.
Cheetahs are
the only big
cats that cannot
roar — they can
only purr.
although males working together
ogether can catch larger prey.
Cheetahs rely on their physique and speed to catch
food, so they are generally
y non-confrontational and
will often be forced to give
e up prey to other larger
predators. They generally have a 50 per cent success
rate on attempted kills, with
ith females having less
success because cubs often
en disrupt the
hunt.
OFFSPRING
Pregnant for three
months, when ready
cheetahs will find a
den somewhere partly
hidden to give birth to six to eight
cubs. At birth the cubs are
e helpless and
they stay in the den until their mobility and eyesight
develop fully.
For the first two months the cubs are defenceless
and are threatened by lions, hyenas and other
predators when the mother has to leave her cubs for
up to 48 hours at
a time to hunt. To protect them, the cheetah will
move between dens so that the scent of the cubs
is not so strong that it gives the cubs’ location away
to predators.
When old enough, the young cubs will follow their
mother and learn how to hunt, and the games they
play are crucial because they teach the cubs the basic
agility and skills to make them effective hunters.
At the age of 18 months to two years they leave
their mother and remain as a makeshift pack, hunting
together for the next six months. Accuracy and
technique are critical, so the cubs need their siblings’
help to ensure adequate kills.
PREY
REST
HOME
H
OM E RUN
RU N
Asia
Africa
South
Atlantic
Ocean
Cheetah distribution
RITUALS
The cheetah
Exhausted
African healers
kills by suffocation,
after making
are believed to use
using its strong
a successful kill, cheetah’s foot bones
jaw muscles to
cheetahs usually
in spiritual rituals
crush the windpipe rest for 30 minutes
to symbolise
of prey.
before eating.
fleet-footedness
and speed.
WEBSITE: cheetah.org/?nd=cheetah_facts
■ This poster complements the Mercury’s BBC Earth
David Attenborough Wildlife Collection NIE kit.
DVD to watch is Life: Challenges of Life (G).
Compiled by Georgina Cook . Images: Thinkstock
Indian
Ocean