Cheetah is a big cat which lives in the dry forests of Africa. It’s the fastest animal living on earth. Like leopard, cheetah has black spots all over its body. Unlike big cats, cheetah has slim back that allows it to run fast. It has a long tail too.
10 Fun Facts about Cheetahs
Cheetah is the fastest animal on earth. It can reach the speed of 112 km/h (70 mph). No other animal can run faster than cheetah.
Lions, leopards and tigers mostly become active at night whereas cheetah comes out during daylight hours.
Cheetahs are the only big cats which cannot roar. However they do utter a wide variety of sounds such as growling, hissing, bleating and churring. When the mother cheetah calls her cubs she utters purr purr and ihn ihn. When cheetah gets annoyed on something it growls.
There are six subspecies of cheetah including Tanzanian cheetah, Sudan cheetah, South African cheetah, Northwest African cheetah, Asiatic cheetah, and king cheetah.
Cheetah eats many different animals including Thomson’s gazelle, ostrich, warthog, wild sheep, blesbok, impala, zebra, wildebeest, rodents, ibex, and desert hare.
The cheetah is thought to chase its prey for as long as 50 – 60 seconds. It has short stamina.
Cheetahs make habitats in the dry forests and savanna.
Cheetahs do not eat humans.
Newborn cheetahs are completely blind at birth. They open their eyes 11 days after birth.
Cheetahs can live for 14 to 15 years in the wild. Males die at the age of 10 while females live longer.
There are 7,100 cheetahs living in the natural habitat.
Predators of cheetah include leopards, brown hyenas, lions, spotted hyenas, and wild dogs.
