WHY?

Some Fast Facts to help crystalize why their place in the world is so unique, and why their survival is imperative:

• They weigh between 20 – 72 kg
• They are about 1 – 1.5m from nose to tail
• The maximum-recorded life span in the wild is 11 -14 years for a female and 7 – 10 years for a male. (dependent on density of other apex predators)
• They have a gestation period of 3 months.
• One of the most specialized of the 37 cat species; it is the fastest land animal in the world!
• It is able to reach tops speeds of 100 -113km/hr in just 3 – 6 seconds. (depending on age and fitness level)
• Its long muscular tail has a flat shape and functions as a rudder to help it control steering and balance as they run.

• It has Semi non-retractable claws (like a dog) which work like cleats on a football shoe to give traction when running.
• Its paws are hard like rubber to help grip the ground when running… unlike the soft paws of a cat.
• The long black ‘tear marks’ which run down from the inside corners of their eyes to the outside edge of the mouth help reflect the sun’s glare when they hunt in the day.
• The ‘tear marks’ also work like sights on a rifle to help the Cheetah ‘aim’ and stay focused on their prey when hunting and running.
• Their black spotted fur grows out of black spotted skin!
• When running at full speed, their stride is approximately 6-8 meters.
• They kill their prey by chasing it down and then bite its throat that acts to suffocate it by cutting off the air supply.

• Their prey are the smaller antelope like Springbok, Steenbok, Thomson’s Gazelle, Dik-Dik, young Oryx, -Kudu, -Hartebeest -calves, Zebra foals, young warthog and Duiker.
• Cheetah cubs have a special way of keeping them safe from threats like Lion and Hyeana – they have a long “mantle” of hair which sticks up from their neck to their tail, helping them to blend in with the long grasses in which they live.
• As cubs are very vulnerable to attack, and often don’t survive the first year, the mothers tend to have many cubs – between 2 and 6 per litter.
• Their predators are large Eagles (can take cubs), Humans, Leopard, Lion, Wild Dog and Hyaena.
• Estimated population of free-roaming Cheetahs in Africa in 2018 is 7000 in Africa and 100 in Asia.
• Their Conservation Status is “Vulnerable”
• Currently they inhabit 10% of their historic range.