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The cheetahs hunting technique
has been adapted to suit its speed and agility and unlike many other
wild cats it hunts mainly by day. It will follow its prey from a
distance, commonly the large herds of gazelle, impala or antelope,
selecting old, injured or young animals, who's speed will be
impaired. Once selected the cheetah will give chase and with its
superior speed, more often than not succeed in bringing down its prey
on the first attempt. The cheetahs powerful jaw muscles enable the
cat to grip its prey, without pause, for several minutes and it uses
this to suffocate its catch by clamping the windpipe. Interestingly,
compared to other species of wild cat, the cheetah has enlarged nasal
passages which enables it to breathe more easily during this final
phase of the kill. Once the kill has been made the cheetah however
will often pause to regain its strength before eating - at this time
the cheetah itself is vulnerable and can often lose its prey to packs
of hyenas or to other scavengers of the open plains. The cheetah will
hunt alone or in family groups, usually comprising of adult male
relatives - such groups usually have much larger territories than the
lone female hunter who must stay close to here young. Cheetah cubs,
born between 2 and 4 to the litter, have a poor survival rate,
commonly falling prey to lions or pack of hyenas. After approximately
18 month following and learning from their mother, the young cheetah
is ready to fend for itself.
Once the cheetah's range ran
from India, through the Middle East and extended to the very south of
the African continent. Today, to the north, the Asian cheetah,
A.j.venaticus is almost extinct and can only be found in a few remote
areas of Iran and Afghanistan. In Africa, with the spread of the
human influence and exploitation in hunting, the cheetah's range has
shrunken dramatically - now only the grasslands and plains of east
and central Africa are home to its dwindling numbers. |