Hunting Cheetah

Cheetah in southern Namibia. The cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus), also known as the hunting leopard, is a big cat that occurs mainly in eastern and... more

by Inge Johnsson

Title

Hunting Cheetah

Artist

Inge Johnsson

Medium

Photograph - Digital Capture, Watermark Not On Actual Print

Description

Cheetah in southern Namibia. The cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus), also known as the hunting leopard, is a big cat that occurs mainly in eastern and southern Africa and a few parts of Iran. The cheetah is characterized by a slender body, deep chest, spotted coat, a small rounded head, black tear-like streaks on the face, long thin legs and a long spotted tail. Its lightly built, thin form is in sharp contrast with the robust build of the other big cats. While it is taller than the leopard, it is notably smaller than the lion. Basically yellowish tan or rufous to greyish white, the coat is uniformly covered with nearly 2,000 solid black spots. Cheetah are active mainly during the day; hunting is the major activity. Carnivores, cheetah mainly prey upon antelopes and gazelles. They will stalk their prey to within 300-1,000 ft, charge towards it and kill it by tripping it during the chase and biting its throat to suffocate it to death. The cheetah's body is specialized for speed; it is the fastest land animal. The speed of a hunting cheetah averages 40 mph during a sprint; the chase is interspersed with a few short bursts of speed, when the animal can clock 70 mph.

Uploaded

June 5th, 2016