10
s
k
c
i
r
T
h
a
Cheet
by Kathy Kranking; photo
s by Suzi Eszterhas
1. BeMaaRchuinnneing
WATCH IT!
6
ously fast,
Cheetahs are fam
of 60 miles
reaching speeds
ree seconds!
per hour in just th
st as a car
That’s about as fa
way. These
goes on the high
built for runcats’ bodies are
Their long legs
ning down prey.
es let them
and flexible spin
single stride.
cover 25 feet in a
ft) help them
And their claws (le
ground for
get a grip on the
ick changes in
fast starts and qu
s also have
direction. Cheetah
to gulp in lots
extra-large lungs
of air as they run.
In their race for
survival, cheetahs
have some helpful
tricks up their
spotted sleeves.
2. Wear Eye Make
up
One of the
first things
you notice
about a che
etah is the
black lines
that go dow
n from its e
ye
for more th
an looks, th s. They’re
oug
colors abso
rb more sun h. Dark
light than
light ones.
So the dark
strip
to reduce th
e sun’s glare es help
when the
cheetah is h
unting. The
black mark
football pla
s
yers wear u
nder their
eyes work th
e same way
.
Photos taken at cheetah conservation fund’s
international research and education centre, namibia
7
4. Use “Tree Mail”
Cheetahs use certain trees
to communicate with
each other. They spray the
trees with urine to leave
messages. The messages
may say things such as,
“No trespassing” or “I was
here.” By sniffing the trees,
cheetahs get the latest
news. It’s usually males that
spray the trees, but females
may spray to let males know
that they’re ready to mate.
5. Pnlady-SHeideeka
Do a
.
3
Disappearing Act
fur, cheetahs blend
With their golden, spotted
of the grasses in their
into the darks and lights
uflage (CAM-uh-flahzh)
African home. This camo
as they hunt for prey.
keeps cheetahs hidden
bs harder for predators
And it makes cheetah cu
to see.
the only big cats
By the way, cheetahs are
d if you could part a
that have solid spots. An
its skin, you’d see that
cheetah’s hair to peek at
it’s spotted, too!
8
A mother cheetah has a huge
job. All alone, she must take
care of her cubs—sometimes as
many as six of them. She cleans
them, feeds them, and tries to
keep them safe. But predators,
such as lions and hyenas, are a
real danger to cheetah cubs. So
every few days, the mom moves
her babies to a new nest. One
by one, she picks them up
gently in her mouth and carries
them to the new location.
Hiding the babies this way can
help the mom stay one step
ahead of predators that might
pick up the babies’ scent.
9
6. Play Hard
ing a
Whether chasing each other, hav
m’s
“slap fight” (right), or attacking Mo
to play!
head (below), cheetah cubs love
also
But playing is more than fun—it’s
s
serious business. Playing helps cub
d
An
.
develop coordination and timing
lkit teaches them lessons such as sta
y’ll
the
ing, chasing, and pouncing—skills
s.
need later to become good hunter
7. Be a Copycat
nt
In order to learn importa
life lessons, cheetah cubs
watch their mom and do
ce,
what she does. For instan
of
lot
adult cheetahs spend a
,
time staring at the horizon
aed
watching for prey or pr
ll
tors. They can see as we
h
ug
as a person looking thro
rn
binoculars. The cubs lea
so
by watching their mom,
e
they stare, too. When th
eir
th
cubs are the right age,
on
mom starts taking them
tch
hunting trips. They wa
then
her to learn what to do,
lves.
se
begin practicing them
8. Move Like a Ninja
Speed is only part of what ma
kes a cheetah a good
hunter. This cat has to be sneak
y, too. A cheetah can
chase prey at top speed for on
ly a short distance.
So it needs to get as close to its
prey as it can first—by
stalking, or moving slowly and
staying low to the ground
(left). Then, when the cheetah
is close enough, it zooms
after the prey. As it overtakes
the animal, the cheetah
reaches out a paw and trips it
(below). Then it bites the
animal’s throat, killing it quickly.
After a chase, a
cheetah needs to rest for up to
half an hour.
10
9. Know When
to Give Up
It’s hard work catching
prey, and
even the best hunter
s aren’t always
successful. So somet
imes cheetahs
take the easy way ou
t and prey on farm
animals. It seems like
a good solution
to the cheetahs—but
not to the farmers,
who then kill cheetahs
to protect their
animals. The good ne
ws is that now
many farms are using
dogs to solve the
problem. Puppies are
raised on the
farms with the animal
s. The puppies
bond with the farm an
imals and later
­protect them by bark
ing at any predators. The cheetahs st
ay away and are
safe. It’s a “doggone
” good idea!
12
10. Be Popular
s, visirt-kids .
h
a
t
e
e
h
fo
aboutthce-cheetah/
e
r
o
m
For rg/about
h.o
e
che ta
their
People love cheetahs for
le nabeauty, speed, and gent
me to
ture. For tourists that co
eeAfrica, getting to see a ch
tah—or even having some
ck—
climb onto their safari tru
dly,
is a dream come true. Sa
enst
cheetahs are Africa’s mo
e of
dangered big cats becaus
at
bit
conflicts with humans, ha
But
loss, and other problems.
ny
people are working on ma
hope
ways to help them. They
e
that cheetahs will continu
nds
racing across the grassla
far into the future.
That’s
the
end!