Download Module # 7 – Component # 12

– Game Ranging / Field Guiding Course
Module # 7 – Component # 12
Cheetah
Classification
Cheetah are classified in the following manner:
Kingdom
Phylum
Class
Order
Family
Genus
Species
-
Animalia
Chordata
Mammalia
Carnivora
Felidae
Acinonyx
jubatus
Common names:
English
German
French
Afrikaans
Shona
Mammals
-
Cheetah
Gepard
Guepard
Jagluiperd
Xikankank
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2
Myth & Legend
The origin of the following myth is unknown.
" In ancient times, all the animals were endowed with the ability to converse with
one another. Once a year all the animals would gather to discuss where all would
be able to live in the coming year.
These indabas were convened at the site of an ancient magical Baobab Tree who
both called and presided over the meeting, and representatives from each of the
animals were present. However, at this latest gathering, the cheetah was absent.
The meeting lasted one full moon, during which many arguments were raised and
compromises made. In the end, all the animals were satisfied as to where they
would be living during the coming year, with the exception of the cheetah who was
not present and therefore not considered. Just as the meeting was being concluded,
the cheetah arrived. He gave neither an apology nor an excuse for his tardiness, but
rudely demanded that the proceedings begin again to include him. The Baobab
became highly angered by the cheetah’s display and lack of respect. The mighty
tree then ruled that because of his absence no land could or would be allocated to
him now and forever more, and thus there would be nowhere where the cheetah
could call home.
The cheetah then lamented that without a home, he would be chased from place to
place, never being able to rest. The Baobab considered this, but refused to allocate
the cheetah a home. Instead the magical tree endowed the cheetah with remarkable
speed, so as to lessen the time taken in moving from place to place, and ensure
that he would never again be late for a gathering. "
There is no real evidence to attest to the fact that this is the origin of the
idiom:
" Cheaters never prosper ".
Mammals
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Vital Statistics
Shoulder Height
Total length
Weight
Tail length
Gestation period
Hunting success
Maximum speed
Killing technique
Social grouping
Longevity
Record Auction Price
Males
88cm (35in.)
Females
85 cm
(34in.)
1.9m (6.3ft)
43Kg
(95lbs.)
68cm (27in.)
2.0m (6.6ft)
54kg
(120lbs.)
72cm (29in.)
3 months
40%
112k.p.h. (70 m.p.h.)
Strangulation
Complex - explained further on
16 years
R 75, 000.00
Cheetah - Acinonyx jubatus (Schreber 1775)
Mammals
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Introduction
The name cheetah is derived from the Indian word C-H-I-T-A, meaning spotted.
Its Latin name Acinonyx roughly translates to claws that do not move, referring
to its non-retractable claws. This highly specialised cat is lithely built, with long
thin legs ending in small feet and with unsheathed non - retractable claws. A further
diagnostic feature of these cats are the two black tear lines running from the
corner of their eyes to the corners of their mouths. One theory as to their purpose
is that kittens use these lines as a guide by watching their mother, and learning
where to bite an antelope when hunting.
Cheetah are said to be both diurnal and crepuscular. This means that they are
generally active during daylight hours (diurnal), but show a marked increase in
activity at dawn and dusk (crepuscular).
Cheetah are an unusual mammal in that they display two very different forms
of coat colouration. The vast majority of individuals exhibit the normal
spotted coat pattern, but 55 individuals world-wide show a different coat
pattern.
Instead of spots, these
cheetahs display elongated
patches of dark hair. This is
very
distinctive
and
greatly
reduces
their
camouflage under natural
conditions. At one time, it
was thought that these
individuals
were
a
separate species and were
given the name Acinonyx
rex, or King cheetah.
However modern genetic tests have revealed that these animals are the
same species as ‘normal’ cheetah and carry a highly recessive gene for coat
colouration.
There is a breeding programme that has run for many years to produce
these variants of the species. However, since these animals could never be
released back into the wild, the reason for continuing to rear these animals
remains highly controversial.
Mammals
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Cheetahs have been described as the feline version of the greyhound, and the
analogy is not far off the mark.
The cheetah is the holder of the record as the fastest land animal capable of
accelerating to 112 kilometres an hour or 70 miles per hour. This means he
could complete 100 metres in 3.2 seconds, taking 6.38 seconds off Usain Bolt's
August 2010 World Record of 9.58 seconds, over the same distance.
The animal has some remarkable physical adaptations for achieving these high
speeds. These include:
a spine that is so flexible that during a high-speed sprint, its hind legs
are brought far forward of the body and are placed on either side of the
forelegs with each stride.
the pads on their forepaws are also grooved like tyre tread to prevent
skidding.
Finally, their non-retractable claws provide excellent traction in the
same manner as a runners’ spiked shoes.
Mammals
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6
Hunting
The cheetah’s specialised speed makes it quite a formidable predator. However, this
comes with a trade-off of diminished strength and power. Thus, its prey base
is not as wide as that of the leopard. Prey items they take include hares, guinea
fowl, ground birds, young warthog and small to medium sized ungulates.
Cheetah are also capable of going without water for up to 10 days, gaining
most of their moisture requirements from the body fluids of their kills. When hunting
ungulates, which make up most their diet, they employ a similar strategy to the
leopard, that of silent stalking and then a rush. The main difference here is that
the leopard can tackle the larger antelope, while the cheetah cannot. The cheetah,
however, can pursue the faster smaller species, while the leopard does not.
To catch its prey the cheetah must overtake it within the first 300 m [1000 ft]
of its sprint, as this cat loses its stamina quickly. This is compounded by the
fact that on many savannas, cover is often limiting, and thus it may have to break
cover some distance from its potential prey. If the cheetah can't get within 50
m [165 ft], however, it won't even attempt the kill. If the cheetah misses, as it
does 60 % of the time, it requires at least half an hour to recoup before it
can try again.
Roughly 70 % of its kills are of impala and other similarly sized ungulates.
There are, however, quite a number of documented cases of cheetah being able
to kill much larger prey when hunting co-operatively. In one specific scenario,
a group of cheetah seems to specialise in giraffe.
Even when a successful kill is made, the cheetah now faces other problems. It is
seen to gorge itself very quickly, because it is likely to be chased off its kill
soon. This problem is further compounded by the fact that making a successful
kill is highly energy sapping and cheetah will need several minutes at rest for it
to ‘catch its breath’ before it can begin feeding. Depending on the habitat and
predator pressure within the area, cheetah may drag the kill into thick bush in
an attempt to eat its prize in peace. Cheetah are incapable of dragging a kill into
trees in the fashion of leopard, because they lack both the sheer physical
strength and are not particularly adept at climbing trees.
The overwhelming majority of cheetah kills are taken from them, by lions,
leopards, hyenas, wild dogs and even jackal. This further emphasises the tradeoff of strength for speed. Therefore, when cheetah have the opportunity to
actually eat their kill they do so in a very specific manner. They select the choice
portions of the carcass, including the heart and liver, but generally ignore the
intestines. Cheetah who have hunted co-operatively also stand a better chance
of being able to defend their kill.
The cheetah’s inability to keep or defend its kill is one of the reasons why we
don’t even classify cheetah as dangerous game. Unless you actually attempt to
interfere with a cheetah and her kittens, cheetah pose no threat to humans.
Mammals
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Social Grouping
Cheetahs are often seen in
groups,
leading
some
to
speculate that they are social
carnivores living in family or
related
groups
like
lion.
However, these groups mostly
turn out to be mothers with
sub-adult cubs, sub-adult cubs
recently separated from their
mother or coalitions of males.
Adult females without cubs
remain solitary. Littermates
often stay together for several
months, with the females dropping out at two years at their onset of oestrus. The
males may stay together permanently. In these coalition groups, the members
defend a territory co-operatively.
The more members present, the larger the territory, with all the males jointly
marking the area. Of 1260 cheetah sightings in the Serengeti (Tanzania) one
study produced the following statistics:
40 % were females with cubs
35 % were lone adults
15 % were coalition groups
7 % were littermates on their own
3 % were male - female consorts
We can thus conclude that while cheetahs are certainly more sociable than leopard,
they do not form the strong social groups of lion.
Mammals
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Reproduction
Females come into oestrus at around two years old. They will actively encourage
males to find them during oestrus by urinating at all male territory marking
locations. In this way males find the females quickly. Typical courtship involves the
female alternatively tempting then resisting her suitor before succumbing.
After three months of gestation, 1 to 4 cubs are born, usually in a highlysecluded den. During this early period of their lives cheetah young are very prone
to predation and will generally stay within the den when their mother is out hunting.
During these first three months, the cubs are covered by a fine layer of hair that
increases their camouflage. Even so only 10 % of cheetah cubs survive to the
yearling stage.
Cheetah cubs begin practising catching and killing prey long before they reach
independence. Their mother initiates this by bringing antelope fawns to them
when they are half a year old. These young ungulates have been caught by the
female cheetah, but not killed. She then presents the fawn to her offspring. In this
way, they learn by practising their killing technique on these defenceless
animals and by observing their mothers.
Mammals
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9
Conservation Status
Cheetah have unfortunately also found a place in the IUCN's endangered species
list, and are currently listed as vulnerable. In the past, these magnificent animals
were highly sought for their coats. However, the greater majority of women now
believe that the coats look better on the cats themselves.
Cheetah may live up to 16 years of age.
Mammals
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10
The “Bottleneck Effect”
The greatest threat facing the cheetah today is its poor
genetic variability, believed to be because of recurring
periods of relatively low numbers (bottlenecks). The
genetic uniformity in cheetah populations increases the
vulnerability of the species to disease in that the lack of
diversity means that most if not all animals will be affected
by the disease.
A “bottleneck” is a term used by geneticists to describe the
situation where many animals are the offspring of a very
few parents. This occurs where the parent population is
decimated by predation or harsh environmental conditions for example and the
few that survive repopulate the species, often with certain genetic effects. In one
example, field mice were found on an island with a white blaze on their forehead,
which was completely absent in the same species on the mainland. Research later
indicated that the population on the island was reduced to a few individuals by
predation. By chance, the surviving individuals all had a white blaze and thus
produced offspring with the white blaze.
Unfortunately, there is no natural reversal of this phenomenon, although in
captivity, projects are under way to allow cheetah from different parts of the world
to breed in the hope of maintaining some genetic diversity. The possibility of using
genetic technology to alter DNA sequences remains an option, albeit an arguably
unethical option.
Mammals
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This course material is the copyrighted intellectual property of WildlifeCampus. It may not be copied,
distributed or reproduced in any format whatsoever without the express written permission of WildlifeCampus