CHEETAH : The speed king
The cheetah is a member of the cat family that not only boasts of flexibility like all other cats but boasts of being the fastest land mammal on earth. This cat can attain top speeds of 120km/hr in a matter of seconds. It can attain speeds even cars built for speed like the Ferrari and Bugatti can’t dream of attaining in that limited time. One of the blessing mother nature has blessed these animals with.
Cheetahs are large wild cats that have distinctively small heads, large eyes that have tear drop marks underneath and enlarged nostrils for increased intake of oxygen. This cat also has a flexible spine that can extend and coil back in rapidly with a large heart and arteries for better circulation of oxygenated blood. The cheetah has long slim legs armed with retractable claws and a long tail that makes up for most of its length with fast twitch muscle fibers that are great for reaching high speeds. The cheetah is spotted with black splotches while its mainly having a body base of golden butter. Something close to a leopards look.
The cheetah is a diurnal animal, meaning it is most active during the day. It takes advantage of tall grasses to keep cover when preying and mostly half of all their hunting are successful. They mainly eat small hoofed animals like the gazelle , impala, baby antelopes etc
Cheetahs are social cats. The male cheetahs socialize better than the females as they move in what we call “COALITIONS”. They hunt together and eat together. Brothers of the same mother most of the time rapport and form COALITIONS. The females on the other hand might share ranges of their homes with their sisters or their female cubs but the females seem to be a little bit anti-social as they stay alone most of the time unless they have cubs.
WHAT FUELS THEIR VELOCITY?
Watching a cheetah run in slow is arguably of of the best scenes in the wild. The posture with which the cheetah jets after its preys makes one wonder if it actually run on wheels instead of legs. Watching a cheetah run in slow motion shows the infinitude grandeur of each stride the animal takes.
The cheetah has a body crafted specifically for aerodynamics. It’s body shape allows less friction against air when the cheetah is in motion. The cheetah has a slim feline body that doesn't weigh as much as other big cats and this also enables it to move fast. As stated earlier, the cheetah has a flexible spine that acts like a spring when the cheetah is in motion. The spine bends like a bow when the cats legs are underneath the cats body making the hips of the cat turn to an angle that makes the front and hind legs of the cat cross each other. Then like a spring, the spine expands with so much force that pushes the cheetah almost 25 feet in just one stride.
A weapon of speed in a cheetahs arsenal is also it’s semi retractable claws that always have the cheetah ready to run at all times. These claws help the cheetah have solidity and grip when sprinting at high speeds like an athletes boot helps the weares have more grip and control when racing.
The cheetah is equipped with a lock on gaze when it’s chasing a prey. This enables the cheetah to have its prey in sight at all times. The cheetahs eyes also have the ability to stabilize images it sees when in motion. So the cheetah actually sees in clear and stable vision when in motion rather than blurs. Coupled with that, a cheetahs has eyes for details as it can see far away images in really detailed vision.
Moving at such speed can spell for other animals not equipped with the cheetahs specifications. What if the cheetah loses control? Just like birds tail give balance to birds when they fly, the cheetahs tail works to balance the animal like a rudder that stabilizes and acts as a body balance for the cheetahs weight that allows the cheetah make sharp turns when necessary without falling or breaking some bones
Running at such speed and velocity pilfers myriads of energy from the cheetah meaning the cheetah can not keep up with such speed for a long time. Study shows that during a chase, the cheetahs heart race increases almost to a point of brain damage and the heart of a cheetah pumps oxygenated blood faster round the body.
To secure a kill, the cheetah moves as near as possible to its prey before going in for the chase to limit the amount of energy consumed. Every chase after a prey is a risk for the cheetah as critical energy would be wasted if it fails to make the catch. The cheetah also can’t make turns easily when on a chase. At such a high speed, trying to make a turn might be a bad move even for an human.
RUGGEDITY AND DEFENSIVENESS
The cheetahs body gives little room for defence. The small size of the head means the cheetah has small jaws coupled with it’s slim legs and body. A cheetah will in almost all cases bolt out of a showdown with other larger preys.
The cheetah uses it’s speed as a form of defence. Bolting out of a bigger opponents presence is something cheetahs do when confronted. Being the fastest land mammal, it can sprint fast away from other preys.
Cheetahs lose most of their kills to bigger preys since they are too tired after a chase to even fight for it. Cheetahs try at least to defend their kills from stubborn hyenas sometimes by face to face confrontation of taking their kills up into the trees like leopards
Nursing mothers too have in instances in the wild faced and teased larger preys as a means of distraction while their cubs get as far away as possible before the mother cheetah makes a run for it.
Male cheetahs also defend their territories against other stray males in battle. There are rare death instances. A coalition of cheetahs defend their territory against any other stray male.
RACING AT THE EDGE OF EXTINCTION?
However, with these abilities these animals are gifted with, they still face extinction and are very vulnerable to threats.
“Just 7100 of the big cats remain in the wild, spurring conservationists to call for the species to be declared endangered”
Alexandra E. Petri
These animals are hunted and killed by farmers even though these cats hardly attack domesticated animals. Poaching too has also greatly reduced the population of these mammals as they are killed for their skin or even their meat in some places.
A lot of these species too also die of hunger and starvation. Animals like hyenas and lions that are more rugged than the cheetah steal catches from the cheetahs. Cheetahs make few catches during weeks and this is what they depend on. Since racing makes them lose energy, they might as well as lose all energy before successfully catching a prey and when these bigger animals come around, the cheetahs are forced to abandon their catch.
With the cheetahs being one of the weakest of the big cats, young cheetahs are preyed upon by other cats. Big cats especially kill any other baby predator they come across and since the cheetah has no chance of survival if it is to battle a lion,jaguar, tiger or other big cats, it just watches from a far distance as its off-springs are killed not even for their flesh. It is the natural instinct of big cats to kill of any competition.
References
what makes cheetahs so fast?
what a cheetahs tail is for
cheetahs are dangerously close to extinction
Inside a Cheetah
basic facts about cheetahs
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