Where does the cheetah live on what continent. Cheetah speed indicators, where he lives. What are the subspecies of the modern predator
A cheetah is a mammal that belongs to the cat family, the genus Cheetah. Today this species is the only one that managed to survive in wild nature. It is the fastest running animal on the planet. When an animal hunts its prey, it can reach speeds of up to 112 kilometers per hour.
General description of the appearance and characteristics of the animal
The body of the individual has an elongated structure, very graceful and slender, and although the cheetah seems to appearance fragile, he has well-built muscles. The predator's legs are muscular, long and very strong. The claws on the paws of a mammal do not fully retract while running or walking, which is unusual for cat family. The shape of the cat's head is medium-sized, it has small ears that have rounded outlines.
The length of the body of the animal can vary from 1.23 to 1.5 meters, the length of the tail can reach 63–75 centimeters, the height at the withers is 60–100 centimeters. Predator body weight can vary from 40 to 65-70 kilograms.
The fur of the animal is relatively short and not very thick, its color is presented in a sandy yellow hue. Also, over the entire surface of the fur, excluding the belly area, evenly spaced small spots dark shade, which have different shape and also the size. It happens that an unusual mane appears in the area of \u200b\u200bthe withers of the animal, which is formed from small and coarse hair. On the muzzle of the animal there are black stripes, from the inner corners of the eye and straight to the mouth. These are kind of marks, thanks to which the predator can easily and quickly focus his eyes during the hunting process, they also protect the cat's eyes from the possibility of being blinded by the sun.
What is the lifespan of an adult?
In nature, a cheetah can live from 20 to 25 years, while cats rarely live up to 25 years. If the predator is kept in captivity, but all the rules and maintenance of the cat are observed, then the life span can increase significantly.
Where is this predator accustomed to live?
Cheetah is a cat who is accustomed to living in such climatic zones, like deserts or savannahs, which have a flat relief and earth's surface. Most of all, the predator prefers to settle in open space. Representatives of cheetahs live mainly in Africa, in countries such as Angola, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Algeria, Benin, Zambia, Kenya, Democratic Republic Congo, Mozambique, Somalia, Niger, Zimbabwe, Namibia, and Sudan.
Some more countries where you can easily meet the animal are considered: Tanzania, Chad, Ethiopia, Togo, Uganda, the Central African Republic and South Africa. Raptor rearing can also be seen in Swaziland. In the region of Asia, the cheetah practically does not exist; it can be found in very small groups on the territory of Iran.
The main distinguishing features of the cheetah and leopard
The leopard and cheetah are animals that are usually classified as mammals, the order of predators and the cat family. . In this case, the leopard belongs to the genus of panthers., and the cheetah to the genus of cheetahs. These two types of cats have a large number differences:
What are the subspecies of the modern predator?
Now we are accustomed to distinguish only 5 subspecies modern cheetahs. So, 4 of them live in Africa, and the fifth is very rare to find in Asia. According to a study conducted in 2007, about 4,500 individuals live in Africa. So, this animal was included in the IUCN Red List.
- Asian subspecies.
The Asiatic cheetah is accustomed to living on the territory of Iran in the provinces of Markazi, Fars and Khorasan, but the number of individuals of this subspecies is very small. There is also a possibility that some individuals live in the region of Pakistan or Afghanistan. AT total no more than 60 individuals have survived in nature. On the territory of zoos is around 23 asian predator. However, this animal has some differences from African subspecies: the paws of the predator are shorter, the neck is more powerful, and the skin is several times denser and thicker.
- Royal subspecies of cheetahs.
Among the simple color of a predator, there are exceptions that occur due to rare mutations at the genetic level. For example, the king cheetah has such features. Black stripes run along the territory of its back, and large dark spots are located on the sides, which in some cases can merge together. First time given unusual breed predators was found in 1926, then experts for a long time did not understand what type of feline it should be attributed to. At first, scientists thought that this individual was produced by crossing a cheetah and a serval, and even considered relegating the king cheetah to a new and separate species.
But the time has come when geneticists put an end to their disputes. This happened in 1981, when the De Wildt Cheetah Center, which was located in South Africa, two mammals had offspring, and one of the cubs had an unusual coat color. King cheetahs are capable freely interbreed with their counterparts, who have the usual color of the skin. At the same time, completely healthy and beautiful babies are born in individuals.
Also exists a large number of species of predators that could not stand the time and died out a long time ago.
Other colors of the predator
There are other coat colors in the animal, which arose due to various mutations. AT natural environment Habitat experts noticed individuals with different colors and colors of fur. For example:
There are individuals that have a very pale and dull coloration of the fur, this is especially evident in the inhabitants of desert areas. There is an explanation for this, because such a feature can act as a camouflage device that can protect the animal from excessively scorching sun rays.
Asunonyx jubatus
Cheetah (English), Gepard (German), Guepard (French), Chita, Guepardo (Spanish).
The English word "cheetah" is derived from Indian titles chita (Hindustani), chitra (Gond), cital (Hindi), or chitraka (Sanskrit), all meaning "spotted" or "speckled". Sometimes it is called a hunting leopard.
Several subspecies of the cheetah from Asia and Africa have been described, although the differences between them are not entirely clear. Some authors do not distinguish between subspecies, but we, following Ellerman and Morrison-Scott (Ellerman & Morrison-Scott), divide the cheetah into two subspecies: Asian cheetah(A.j.venaticus) described below, and African cheetah(A.j. jubatus).
Asunonyx jubatus venaticus
Asian Cheetah.
DESCRIPTION. Body length including head 110-150 cm (44-59 inches). Tail length 60-80 cm (24-31 inches). Height at withers 70-85 cm (28-33 inches). Weight 40-60 kg (90-130 pounds). A large, slender cat whose body tapers towards the back, with long, slender legs and a small, round head. The pale-yellow skin is covered with small black spots, there are characteristic black facial stripes ("tear stripes"), stretching from the eyes to the mouth. The hair on the neck and withers is thick and forms a small mane. The tail is long, with black transverse rings towards the end and a fluffy white tip. The nails are blunt, slightly curved and only partially retractable. Females are smaller than males, more gracefully built and without a mane around their necks, but otherwise similar to males.
.LOCATION. Semi-deserts, cereal steppes and savanna. They are rare in the forest zone.
SPREAD. It was originally widely distributed in Southwest Asia from Arabian Peninsula and Palestine east to Central India, and north to Turkmenistan. In all likelihood, disappeared from all of Asia, except Iran; possibly also preserved in separate parts Turkmenistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Outside of Asia, the cheetah is distributed throughout most of Africa, except for the Central Sahara, and the rainforest zone.
TAXONOMICAL NOTES. For Asia, three subspecies of the cheetah are mentioned: A.j.raddei (Transcaspian territories), A.j.venator (India), A.j.venaticus (India). Some authors believe that A.j.venaticus also lives in North Africa, others do not agree with this. All Asian subspecies are here considered together under the priority name venaticus Griffith, 1821.
NOTES. Usually not considered an object of sport hunting. The cheetah is a peaceful and non-aggressive animal, often tamed and used as a hunting hound more than 4,300 years ago. Domestic cheetahs are said to be very affectionate and playful animals.
STATUS. All cheetahs are listed as endangered in the USDI (1972) and Appendix 1 of CITES (1975). The Asian subspecies (A.j.venaticus) is listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List. Laws on the protection of cheetahs have been adopted in almost all Asian countries.
The cheetah is one of the most predatory and fastest animals on the planet, which are members of the cat family. It should be noted that in terms of speed, the cheetah is second only to the jaguar, but the most maximum speed that a cheetah can develop will be approximately 110 to 115 km / h.
The population of this species of mammals is not high.
Cheetah - description, structure, characteristics
By their own anatomical features the cheetah is a bit like domestic cats, but the difference between them is not only in size, because the cheetah's body has a slightly longish shape.
At the same time, at first glance, it may seem that this animal is not able to survive in such harsh and harsh conditions, while due to its well-developed muscles, the cheetah is able to instantly gain high speed to hunt for prey.
The special features of the cheetah's structure are its long, but very strong legs, the body is elongated, and the head is small.
Body size adult it can reach up to 1.5 meters, but its tail can be about 80 cm in size, almost all cheetahs are the same size in height, so the height of an adult can reach up to 1 meter. But its weight can be different and have limits from 50 to 80 kg.
The color of the cheetah, as a rule, has a sandy or dark yellow hue, only the belly of the animal has a white color, while there are small black spots on the entire body of the animal, with the exception of the belly.
How long does a cheetah live?
As a rule, almost all cheetahs in wild environment can live up to a maximum of 25 years, however, this figure can increase significantly if they are kept in captivity under constant supervision.
Where does the cheetah live?
The habitat of this predator is open and flat terrain, where there is a lot of free space for viewing and choosing a prey.
The habitat of this species of animal is distributed throughout almost the entire territory of the African continent, and is less common in the Asian region.
Subspecies of cheetahs, photos and names
Currently, scientists have 5 subspecies of cheetahs, almost all of them live in Africa, and only one species is very rare in the Asian region.
Thus, as of 2007, African continent According to scientists, about 4,500 cheetahs have been identified.
Such a population is considered to be very small, therefore these predatory mammals are listed in the Red Book.
So, four subspecies that live in Africa:
- Acinonyx jubatus hecki
- Acinonyx jubatus fearsoni
- Acinonyx jubatus jubatus
- Acinonyx jubatus soemmerringi
But the subspecies of cheetahs, which is found in Asia "Acinonyx jubatus venaticus" or the Asiatic cheetah, mainly lives in Iran. This type animals has a very small population, and their number does not even reach 100 individuals.
The distinctive features of the Asian cheetah from the African ones are its body structure. So in Asiatic cheetahs: short, but very strong and powerful paws, a rather powerful neck, as well as a very thick skin.
king cheetah
In the wild, cheetahs may have a body color that is not characteristic of cheetahs, this can be seen very, very rarely. Such an uncharacteristic color for cheetahs can only be due to gene mutations.
The color itself has the following appearance - along the entire length of the back of the animal there are black stripes of black color, and along the rest of the body there are black spots of various sizes. Individuals of this species were first discovered in the late 20s of the last century.
However long time many scientists believed that the king cheetah was bred by hybridizing a leopard with a cheetah. But already in the early 80s of the last century, an event occurred that gave an answer to the origin of the royal cheetah.
In a special scientific center cheetahs "De Wildt" in individuals with a normal color, a small cheetah with an unusual color was born.
How does a cheetah hunt?
The cheetah is active mainly during the day when there is very good visibility. As a rule, the cheetah prefers to hunt in the prime of life or in the evening, but when it is not yet completely dark. The fact is that the cheetah does not like to hunt at night.
The process of hunting a cheetah is as follows: the cheetah does not attack its prey from a shelter, but catches its prey in pursuit, alternating a very high-speed run with long and powerful cheetah jumps.
Chasing its prey in the process of chasing a cheetah can instantly change its direction of movement.
The cheetah knocks down its prey with one stroke of its paw, after which it strangles its caught prey.
It should be noted that if the victim still escapes during the chase of the cheetah, then he leaves the victim alone. So during the pursuit of the victim, the cheetah spends quite a lot of energy, so it is easier for the cheetah to let go of a potential victim than to pursue it for a long time.
In this case, he will definitely repeat his try again until it catches its own food.
What does a cheetah eat?
The basis of the cheetah's diet menu is ungulates; it is also not uncommon for a cheetah to eat small prey, namely hares. It should be noted that cheetahs are very careful about food.
So, for example, they will never eat carrion, besides, after they eat, but the prey is not eaten, then the cheetahs will no longer eat it up again. As a rule, the cheetah will hunt for new and fresh prey.
Cheetah breeding
On the onset mating season in cheetahs, males of these animals form small groups of 3-5 individuals, which necessarily include adults from one litter. All this is necessary in order to protect their territory from males from other groups, which may also contain possible female partners.
The gestation period of a female cheetah can last from 80 to 90 days, while the female is able to reproduce from two to five kittens at a time.
Little kittens are born blind and defenseless, and only after 9-15 days do the eyes of the cubs open.
At birth, small cheetah kittens have long and soft hair, which has a slightly grayish color with a blue tint, and the spots on the skin begin to stand out after some time, but the tip of the tail has a dark color, which will simply disappear after 3-5 months.
Almost all cheetah cubs live with their mother upon reaching 1-1.5 years, after which, young and independent cheetahs begin to live independently.
The most difficult periods for cheetahs are autumn and spring, it is at this time that they often suffer from various viral diseases.
Photo of a cheetah
Cheetahs are part big family felines, and although they cannot climb trees, they can move faster than any other land animal. Cheetahs can accelerate from 0 to almost 100 km per hour in 5.95 seconds, their maximum speed is about 113 km/h. Cheetahs are built for speed. The flexible spine allows their front legs to reach far forward, covering a distance of 20 to 22 feet (over 6 m) in one jump, much like a racehorse. Cheetahs are above the ground more than half the time they run. Their stiff claws give them extra traction when pushing. However, these animals quickly get tired and are forced to slow down in order to gain strength to continue the chase.
These felines have adapted to the hot climate and drink water only once every three to four days. One of the features of cheetahs is the long, black lines that run from the inner corner of each eye to the mouth. They are commonly referred to as "tear lines" and scientists believe they help protect the cheetah's eyes from the scorching sun. This predator has amazing vision; during the day it can spot prey from 5 km away. However, he can't see well in the dark. Predators such as leopards and lions tend to hunt at night, cheetahs hunt only during the day. Given their body mass and blunt claws, they are not well equipped to fend for themselves or their prey. When larger or more aggressive animals approach a cheetah in the wild, it will give back what it has caught to avoid a fight.
Cheetahs do not even know how to growl, but they purr the loudest! Of the large cat family, cheetahs are closest to domestic cats, weighing only 45-60 kg. AT Ancient Egypt cheetahs were considered domestic animals, they were tamed and trained for hunting. This tradition migrated to the ancient Persians and to India, where it was continued by Indian princes in the 20th century. Cheetahs continued to be associated with royal family and elegance, they have long been used as pets and for hunting. Cheetah lovers were also Genghis Khan and Charlemagne, who boasted that he kept cheetahs in the palace. The ruler of the Mughal empire Ak-bar (1556-1605) kept about 1000 cheetahs. As recently as the 1930s, the emperor of Ethiopia was often photographed walking with a cheetah on a leash. Even in modern world they are manual. Caught in captivity early age they lose their hunting instinct.
Cheetahs are endangered and have declined from around 100,000 in 1900 to between 9,000 and 12,000 today worldwide. Thanks to the research of scientists, it is even possible to contribute to an increase in the number of individuals in certain areas. In Namibia, cheetahs come close to human habitation when preying on livestock, as it is more difficult to hunt in the wild.
As a result, diseases of domestic animals were found in cheetahs, in addition, there were cases of killing cheetahs in order to protect livestock. The solution to this problem was the Anatolian Shepherd Dog, which scared away predators, forcing them to disperse over vast territories in search of food, thereby contributing to the emergence of new families in the wild. Similar studies are being conducted wherever cheetahs live or become extinct. Basically, it was decided to withdraw wild cats in captivity and eventually released into the wild.
Compilation beautiful pictures and photos with cheetahs.
This small predator - the body length of a cheetah does not exceed 130 centimeters - hunts antelopes, as well as more small mammals and birds. Cheetahs are considered the most fast cats and the fastest land creatures. They can reach speeds of up to 110 kilometers per hour.
The cheetah is distributed in Africa, in India, Southwest, Front and Central Asia. Currently Asian cheetah practically disappeared. AT Saudi Arabia predator last time seen in 1950, the last cheetah in India was killed in 1955. It is rarely seen in Armenia and Azerbaijan. They were last seen in Turkmenistan in the 1960s. Of the entire vast range in Asia, a small area remained in Iran.
In Africa, the cheetah has survived only in remote places or in protected areas. On the guarding a cheetah the world community stood up, and it is listed in the International Red Book as an animal that is threatened complete disappearance. Whether it will be possible to save this predator in the wild now depends only on man.
The body of the cheetah is slender, with well-developed muscles and almost no body fat, it seems fragile. The cheetah has a small head, high-set eyes, and small, rounded ears. The coloration is sandy-yellow, with small black spots scattered all over the body, thin black stripes on the sides of the muzzle. The mass of an adult cheetah is 40-65 kg, the body length is from 115 to 140 cm, the rather massive tail has a length of up to 80 cm.
Cheetahs prey mainly on medium-sized ungulates - gazelles, impalas, wildebeest calves - as well as hares. Cheetahs usually hunt early in the morning or in the evening, when it is no longer very hot, but still light enough. They navigate more by sight than by smell.
Unlike other felids, cheetahs hunt by stalking their prey, not by ambush. First, they approach the chosen prey at a distance of about 10 meters, and then try to catch it in a short run. In pursuit of the victim, it develops speed up to 110-115 km / h, accelerates to 75 km / h in 2 seconds. The animal runs in jumps 6-8 m long, spending less than 0.5 seconds on each jump. The cheetah is also able to quickly change the direction of the run. The prey is usually knocked down with a kick of the paw and then strangled. If for a short time the cheetah fails to catch up with its prey, it refuses to continue the hunt, because due to the huge energy consumption, it is unable to pursue a long chase. The run rarely lasts more than a minute. Despite the high speed, about half of the chases end unsuccessfully.
In Africa, the cheetah is the weakest of large predators. Hyenas, leopards and lions can take prey from cheetahs, taking advantage of the fact that the cheetah needs up to half an hour to rest after the chase.
Cheetahs almost died out during the last ice age. Cheetahs that exist today are close relatives, so they show signs of genetic degeneration caused by incest. For example, cheetahs have very high level infant mortality: up to 70% of cubs do not live up to a year.
Pregnancy in cheetahs lasts 85-95 days, from two to five kittens are born. Kittens stay with their mother for 13 to 20 months.
In the wild, cheetahs live on average up to 20, sometimes up to 25 years; in zoos - much longer.
The use of a cheetah for hunting.
The great natural ability of the cheetah to hunt, its peaceful disposition and easy domestication have prompted hunters in many countries since ancient times. use a cheetah as a hunting animal.
The first information about the use of a cheetah for hunting dates back to 1580-1345 BC. In ancient Thebes, images of two cheetahs were found, which are kept on leashes. Many centuries ago, the cheetah was hunted in many Asian countries. Cheetah hunting was especially grandiose in India, where it was most widespread in the 16th and early 17th centuries.
The size of the hunt can be judged by the fact that Khan Akbar during his reign kept up to 1000 cheetahs at the same time - they were caught with loops of antelope tendons placed near the trees, about which the animals came to sharpen their claws.
The first mention of hunting with cheetahs in Europe dates back to 439 AD, when two hunting cheetah with which he hunted fallow deer. The news has survived that in 1100, when the Lombard crusaders approached Constantinople, the Greeks released lions and cheetahs kept in the palace on them, and the latter did not attack the attackers.
Byzantine miniatures of the 12th-13th centuries often depicted hunting with cheetahs, especially deer and fallow deer. European feudal lords kept cheetahs for hunting and arranged "leoparderies" - special premises where animals were kept. When predators were trainers and other staff caring for the animals. In France, cheetahs were hunted as early as the 11th century.
During the renaissance in this country, cheetahs were so common on the estates of seniors that they are mentioned in most literary works of that time and are often depicted on tapestries.
There's a lot historical information about hunting with cheetahs in Italy. So, Frederick II, emperor of the Roman Empire, had leoparderies in the castle of Lucera in Apulia. Cheetahs were delivered to him from North Africa. Louis XII hunted with cheetahs for hares and roe deer in the Amboise forest. Hunting with cheetahs in Europe required large expenditures for the acquisition and maintenance of hunting animals and was available only to large feudal lords. As the feudal states withered away, hunting with these predators became rarer and stopped around the beginning of the 18th century.
In the Middle Ages, hunting with cheetahs was practiced in Kievan Rus and the Moscow principality, and on the territory of modern Central Asian and Transcaucasian states and in Kazakhstan existed until the 19th century inclusive. AT Ancient Russia the cheetah was called "pardus", and the persons involved in their training "pardus".