Cheetah: The cat that barks like a dog!

With its exceptionally elongated body and legs, small head, blunt non-retractable claws and flexible spine, this dog-like cat is built for speed. No wonder it is the fastest land animal at sprinting speeds of up to 110 km/h.

Like a Formula One race car, its tail acts as a wind-deflecting rudder for making sharp turns while chasing prey at top speed. Aerodynamic exteriors notwithstanding, there’s more under the bonnet: XL-size heart, lungs, liver and nasal passages for delivering power!

The cheetah though spotted, has a striking ID-mark to distinguish it from other spotted cats - the black ‘tear-streaks’ running from eyes to nose. Also, it does not roar but makes bird-like chirruping noises and high-pitched yelps that can be heard at great distances. Yet, it hisses when angry and purrs when contented just like a domestic cat.

Cheetahs hunt by day either alone or in family groups, stalking their prey to within a short distance before making a 20-30 second sprint. The slashing claws of its front paws make first contact with a leg of the prey, bringing it down for the kill. The cheetah then locks its jaws on the prey’s throat, suffocating it to death.

But after the kill, when the exhausted cheetah pauses to recover from the chase, very often scavengers like hyenas and sometimes even lions, move in for the meal. No match for these competitors, the only growling now left in the cheetah is in his empty stomach as he slinks away.

The female cheetah reaches sexual maturity at two years of age and can breed all year round. A litter of up to six little blind cubs are born after a 3-month pregnancy. Many cubs are snatched away by other big cats and hyenas.

The cubs stay with their mother for about a year and a half when the mother leaves to breed again. However, the litter continues to stay together for several months more.

Adult female cheetahs without cubs, tend to live alone while males often form lifelong bonds with litter-brothers and roam in all-male groups called ‘coalitions!’

Copyright © 2007 Noël Gama
www.noelgama.com