Post by cheetah on Nov 25, 2020 10:08:20 GMT -5
Cheetahs
Size
Cheetahs weigh 20-72 kg.They are 1.1-1.5 meters long and 70-90cm tall.Cheetah is the 7th biggest cat in the world.Speed
Cheetahs can reach speeds of upto 48-110 km.Cheetahs are the second fastest mammals on earth after bats.Cheetahs can only maintain their speed for 20-30 seconds.Cheetahs can increase their speed by 10 km in a single stride while running.A cheetah can exert 120 W/kg.Temporal range
Cheetahs have existed from the late pliocene to recent.Classification
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:ChordataClass:Mammalia
Order:Carnivora
Suborder:Feliformia
Family:Felidae
Subfamily:Felinae
Genus:Acinonyx
Species:Acinonyx jubatus
Scientific name and etymology
Cheetah’s scientific name is Acinonyx jubatus.Acinonyx means no move claw.Jubatus means mane in reference to the mane of cheetah cubs.Cheetah means spotted one .Cheetahs are also called hunting leopards.
Anatomy
Cheetahs have long legs,unique ears,big heart,lungs and liver,huge nostrils and a long tail.These adaptations going along with their sleek body and very fast twitch muscles help them run very fast.The dental formula of the cheetah is 3.1.3.1.2.1.
Cheetah bone length
Humerus:222mm
Radius:221 mm
Femur:251mm
Cheetah bone thickness
Humerus:22mm(AP),16mm(ML)
Radius:10mm(AP),16mm(ML)
Femur:19mm(AP),17mm(ML)
Other robustness regards
Proximal Paw width:53%
Olecranon index:17%
Brachial index:97%
Manus proportions:29%
Radial robusticity index:8%
Humeral robusticity index:7%
Humeroradial index:101
Canine crown height:19mm
Range and habitat
Cheetahs currently live in Africa and Iran.Cheetahs prefer to live in plains but also live in mountains, deserts and forests.
Immune system
Cheetahs rarely tend to get sick in the wild.According to a study cheetahs have a stronger constitutive innate immune system than leopards but leopards have a stronger adaptive and induced innate immune systems than cheetahs.
Biteforce
Cheetahs have a strong short bite.Cheetahs have a bite force of 47kg and a bite force quotient of 119 BFQ.
Predation
Prey
Cheetahs prey on elands,waterbucks,bushbucks,reedbucks,nyala,kudu,
Oryxes,steenbok,blesbok,springbok,roan’s antelope,
thomson's gazelles,grant’s gazelle,topi,hartebeest,wildebeest,chinkaras,impala other antelopes,baboons,giraffes,ostriches,camels,bustards,zebras,african cape buffaloes,aardwolves,foxes,rats etc.
Cheetahs prey on a lesser variety of prey compared to other felines.Cheetah’s favourite prey is Thomson's gazelle.
Drinking water
Cheetahs can go for days without water because they live in a dry climate.
Hunting
They have a hunting success rate of 34%-100%.Cheetahs mostly hunt using either of these two ways hide in a bush until prey comes closer or hide in the shade until prey comes closer.When the prey comes 30-100m closer the cheetah starts sprinting.When the Cheetah runs close to the prey it will trip their prey with the dew claw.Then it will pin the prey down and give a bite to the throat.
Eating
Cheetahs get tired after running and hunting so they rest about 45-50 mins before eating.If it is a coalition the main hunter rests when the others eat.Cheetahs eat very fast because if predators like lions arrive they have to leave the kill before eating a sufficient amount.Cheetahs eat the prey from the bottom to the top.Cheetahs take a brief pause of 10-15mins in the middle of eating their prey to look out for predators.Cheetahs mostly like to hunt prey ranging from 20kg-50kg in weight.Cheetahs mostly do not make a lot of sound when they eat,they only make snapping and growling noises when they eat.
Cubs
Cubs hunt foals and fawns when they are 180 days old.
Mutations
King cheetah
King cheetahs occur because of pseudo melanism.King cheetahs were first thought to be a different cheetah su-species and was named Acinonyx jubatus rex.Then it was thought be a hybrid between a cheetah and a leopard.Then scientists finally realized that king cheetahs are a mutation.
Woolly cheetah
The wooly cheetah was also first thought to be a sub-species and was named Acinonyx jubatus guttatus.The wooly cheetah occurs because of a genetic disposition to long fur.A woolly cheetah is bigger and has more fur than normal cheetahs.
Other Mutations
Other mutations of cheetah include blue cheetah,cream cheetah,chinchilla cheetah,red cheetah,white cheetah and black cheetah.Blue cheetahs occur because maltese.Cream cheetahs occur because of isabelline.Chinchilla cheetahs occur because of chinchilla.Red cheetahs occur erythrism.White cheetahs occur because of albino. Black cheetahs occur because of melanism.Mughal emperor Jahangir had a chinchilla cheetah which had white skin and blue spots.There are also ticked or spotless cheetahs which have no spots.
History of cheetahs
Just like modern times in prehistoric times there were always predators who can over power a cheetah that is why the cheetah hunts in the afternoon when all the other predators take shade because of the heat.Cheetahs are the only cats which are true nomads.In prehistoric times the cheetahs walked all the way to the tip of Africa to the tip of Russia.The cheetah is the only extant member of the genus acinonyx.The giant cheetah(Acinonyx Pardinensis) was also a member of the genus acinonyx. It was speculated to hunt prey like horses.Acinonyx aicha was also a member of the genus acinonyx.The acinonyx aicha lived only in Morocco and had a primitive skull which resembled a skull of a pantherinae.Acinonyx intermedius was another member of the genus acinonyx.The acinonyx intermedius shared the same range as the giant cheetah.The other members of the genus acinonyx include sivapanthera padhrinesis,sivapanthera pleistocaenicus ,sivapanthera potens,sivapanthera arvernensis,sivapanthera linxiaensis,sivapanthera brachygnathus.
There were a few cheetah alikes in the prehistoric era.A good example is the american cheetah.There are three species of american cheetah,they are miracinonyx studeri, miracinonyx trumani, miracinonyx inexpectatus.The american cheetah is more related to cougars rather than cheetahs but the american cheetah is neither of these cats.It belongs to its own genus.
Subspecies
There are five subspecies of cheetahs they are North-west-african cheetah(acinonyx jubatus hecki),Tanzanian cheetahs(Acinonyx jubatus raineyii),South african cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus jubatus),Sudan cheetah (acinonyx jubatus sommeringi) and Asiatic cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus venaticus).The tanzanian cheetah is the biggest cheetah subspecies.
Hybrids
Cheetahpard (cheetah*leopard)
There have been reports of a cheetah leopard hybrid or a forest cheetah.A cheetahpard is described to look like a cheetah with leopard like pattern.
Serveetah (cheetah*serval)
There is not much evidence to prove that cheetah serval hybrids do exist.
Cheetah domestic cat cross
A savannah cat of a chinese actress of bai ling was mistaken for a hybrid between cheetah and domestic cat.Later it was said that cheetah domestic cat hybrid is not possible because of the size difference.
DNA
Cheetahs have a low genetic variability.Like most felines cheetahs have 38 chromosomes.
Reproduction
Cheetahs reproduce throughout the year.Male cheetahs can be aggressive to females while mating.Female cheetahs are sexually mature at 2 years, males at 1 year but they do not mate until they are 3 years old.Cheetahs can give birth to 3-9 cubs after a gestation of 3months.Cubs are born blind and weigh 150-300g.Cheetah cubs have manes which make them look like honey badger so that predators will avoid them.Cubs leave their mother at 13 months some females may stay longer with their mothers.
Sounds
Cheetahs make these following sounds
Growling:This sound is made when the cheetah is angry or threatened
Bleating:This sound is made when the cheetah is sad
Yowling:This sound is made when a threat worsens.
Purring:This sound is made when the cheetah is happy or content
Chirping:This sound is made when cheetahs are looking for each other
Hissing:This sound is made when the cheetah is feeling threatened
Churring:This sound is made in cheetah social meetings.
Celebrity cheetahs
Sibella:Sibella the cheetah lived and hunted till the ripe age of 14 years.Sibella gave birth to 20 cubs in her life.She hunted even when she was old but when she was very old she was killed by a duiker she tried to kill.
Legolas:Legolas was the biggest cheetah ever weighing at 71 kg.
Sarah:Sarah is the fastest cheetah to ever live.Sarah was a captive cheetah kept in the Cincinnati zoo.
Behaviour
Cheetahs are social and diurnal.Male cheetah brothers join to make a coalition.Other random cheetahs may join a coalition for their safety.Coalitions usually take up the a territory which is the same size.Coalitions fight to death for a territory and males also fight for females.Female cheetahs are solitary unless with cubs.Cheetahs are mostly diurnal but nocturnal in deserts.
Threats to cheetahs
Threats that harm cheetahs include genetic bottleneck,poaching,competition from predators,blinding,being shot by farmers,being kept as pets etc.Cheetahs pause for 10-12 mins an hour to look out for predators.Cheetah cubs have a mortality rate of 90% and they get preyed on by birds of prey,hyenas,lions,leopards,jackals etc.An adult cheetah has a few enemies.Cheetahs are rated vulnerable by the IUCN.
Conservation programs for cheetahs
Organizations such as CCF,CCB,Action for cheetahs,RWCP,Panthera etc conserve cheetahs.
Books about cheetahs
Books about cheetahs include Cheetah(Luke hunter),Cheetah(Mark Segal),Kalahari cheetahs life in an arid environment,Cheetah conservation and biology etc.
Egyptians,Indians and cheetahs The modern history of cheetahs
Mughals loved cheetahs.Jahangir recorded a case of cheetahs breeding in captivity.Akbar had a 1,000 cheetahs.Akbar invented a humane way of capturing asiatic cheetah which replaced the odi system.Cheetahs captured using the odi system almost always ended up with broken limbs.Akbar's system was to dig a hole and use a trapdoor cage and trap the cheetahs.Cheetahs can be trained to not hunt humans which make them good hunting companions.Akbar trained his 1,000 cheetahs with his 200 trainers.Before training cheetahs can kill 3 antelopes in a row but after training they can kill 12 antelopes in a row. He also ranked the cheetahs regarding hunting power.The top tier cheetahs were called khasa cheetahs.Akbar used a process called chatr mandal to make the cheetahs hunt the antelopes.This all happened in India.The last cheetahs in india went extinct when the Maharaj of Korwai hunted the last cheetahs to extinction in 1948.Egytians also kept cheetahs as pets and used them to hunt.
References
www.wildcatfamily.com/felidae-evolution/
curiositystream.com/series/309/age-of-big-cats
www.allaboutcheetahs.info/details/2015/10/07/cheetah-fact-sheet.html#:~:text
www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2009/01/cheetah-gender-hormones-animals/
www.cincinnati.com/
www.livescience.com/10926-elusive-saharan-cheetah-captured-photos.html
animalsanswers.com/what-do-cheetahs-eat/
www.express.co.uk/news/nature/605417/Cheetah-Sibella-african-grasslands
www.encyclopedia.com/plants-and-animals/animals/vertebrate-zoology/cheetah
www.tapatalk.com/groups/wildcats/cheetah-acinonyx-jubatus-t29.html
phys.org/news/2013-06-cheetah-power-key-success.html
citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.551.8568&rep=rep1&type=pdf
themughalsofindia.com/these-stories-about-akbar-and-his-asiatic-cheetahs-will-fill-you-with-wonde
www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-22861142
citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.551.8568&rep=rep1&type=pdf
fossilworks.org/bridge.pl?a=taxonInfo&taxon_no=72179
www.researchgate.net/publication/316880566_A_revised_taxonomy_of_the_Felidae_The_final_report_of_the_Cat_Classification_Task_Force_of_the_IUCNSSC_Cat_Specialist_Group
web.archive.org/web/20130927185621/http://dobzhanskycenter.bio.spbu.ru/pdf/sjop/MS636%20Eizirik%20Felid%20Taxonomy.pdf
www.wildlifeday.org/content/factsheets/cheetah#:~