CHEETAH Facts
The cheetah has a slender, long-legged
body with blunt claws. Its coat is tan with small, round, black spots, and
the fur is coarse and short. The cheetah has a small head with high-set eyes.
Black "tear marks," that are by the corner of its eyes down the sides of
the nose to its mouth, keep the sun out of its eyes and aid in hunting.
An adult’s body is 112-135 cm long;
tail length 66-84 cm; shoulder height 73+ cm; weight 34-54 kg. The male is
slightly larger then the female.
The cheetah's flexible, thin muscular
body make this cat the swiftest hunter in Africa. Covering 7-8 meters
in a stride, with only one foot
touching the ground at a time, the cheetah can reach a speed of 110 km/h
in seconds. At two points in the stride, no feet touch the ground.
Cheetahs live in Africa and Iran.
They live in grasslands
and places where there are mountains.
A cheetah eats small antelope,
warthogs, hares, and birds.
Females live alone except when
they are raising cubs.
Cheetahs hunt in the late morning and early evening. They capture their prey by stalking
- until the prey is 10-30 meters away - before chasing. Prey dies when a
cheetah bites the underside of their throat. Chases last about 20 seconds.
Cheetahs use play-trees (trees
with sloping trunks and large horizontal limbs) to observe their surroundings.
Cheetahs make chirping sounds,and
hiss or spit when angered or threatened. They purr when content.
Cheetahs are not a threat to humans,
but humans are a threat to cheetahs.
source: Cheetah Conservation Fund, http://www.cheetah.org/
adapted for student use by C. Slegona, 05/06, permission requested