Cheetah
- Class: Mammals (Mammalia)
- Order: Carnivores (Carnivora)
- Family: Cats (Felidae)
- Genus: Acinonyx
- Species: Acinonyx jubatus
Size
The cheetah weighs between 30 and 60kg.
Ecology
The cheetah is the fastest land mammal in the world, and inhabits the African savanna.
Young females leave their natal group, but usually occupy the same home range as their mother. Sibling males will often form coalitions, seeking out an area a great distance from their mother, claiming a range which may overlap several females’ territories. It is rare to see a lone male.
Food habits
Cheetahs are exceptionally adapted to speed, and have the ability to exceed 100?km/h in pursuit of prey. It primarily hunts small gazelles and impala, but also takes other small animals such as birds and hares. It hunts predominantly during the day to avoid competition from nocturnal hunting animals such as lions and hyenas.
Longevity
Cheetahs live for 12 to 14 years, ones in zoos may reach 20 years of age.
Reproduction
Cheetahs are able to breed at any time of the year. Following a 3-month gestation period, between 2 and 6 cubs are born and the female raises her cubs without help from the male. Up to 73?% of cub mortality are attributed to predation by lions and hyenas.
Conservation status
At the beginning of the 20th century there were approximately 100 000 cheetahs in Africa, southern Asia and India. Today fewer than 15 000 remain in Africa, and a small remnant population survives in Iran. Extensive hunting, as well as the lack of the cheetah’s natural prey, are some of the major causes for the decline in their numbers. Reduction of cheetahs’ natural habitat through land cultivation, and their subsequent competition with grazing livestock, pose additional difficulties for their survival.
Borås Zoo supports the Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF) in projects that will ensure the future survival of the cheetah and its habitat. The CCF, founded in 1990, has the head office situated in Namibia, where 95??% of all cheetah population lives outside protected areas.
IUCN Threat Category:
Vulnerable.
