Fastest Animal On Land : Cheetah

It is a clear fact that cheetah is the fastest animal on land. The cheetah has a sleek body and has long legs. Its claws are more or less retractile. The fur of the cheetah is thick but has short hair. Its coat is a little bit tanned that is why black spots are on its coat, which is otherwise yellow. It has one more peculiarity which is the mark, which is known as “tear mark” starts from the inner side of its eyes and runs down to the sides of the nose down to the outer portion of its mouth, keeps the sunlight out of its eyes. This is an added aid while hunting. The length of the body of an adult cheetah is about 4-5.5 feet long. The tail of the cheetah is about 2-3 feet in length. The length from its shoulder to the ground is another 2-3 feet. It weighs anything between 30-65 kg. The male counterpart is slightly larger then the female counterpart. Due to the poaching of cheetahs all over the world its number has started reducing tremendously. Hence they have become protected species in Namibia, as they were considered susceptible to attacks.

They are considered endangered under the endangered species act in the United States. The cheetah has various specialities. Those include flexible spinal cord, big liver, enlarged heart, big nostrils, more lung capacity, sleek, lean and thin body like that of an athlete. All these make the cheetah the fastest cat hunter in Africa. The cheetah can reach an exhilarating speed of more than 100 km. in just a few seconds. Cheetahs love to live in areas where there is huge expanse of open land and where there are many numbers of preys. They are mostly found in the grassland, savannah, vegetation and mountainous regions. The cheetahs, which were once found in various countries of Asia and Africa, they are now found only in a few countries like Iran, Sahara regions, etc. the home range for males is around 2000 km. and the home range for the females is more than 3500 km. the social order of the cheetahs is well managed. Female cheetahs live alone except while raising their cubs.

The first two years of the cub’s life are very important as they have to learn many necessary lessons like surviving in the wild avoiding predators, hunting the animals, etc. after the mother teaches everything to her cub or cubs she leaves them to survive on their own. The cubs then form their own group. After 2 years the female siblings leave the group and only the male ones remain together. The territories are made in the areas where there is plenty of game and water supply. The female ones after leaving the group go in search for the male who will mate with them. About 25,000 cheetahs are estimated to be remaining in African countries whereas Namibia has the largest number of cheetahs that is 3000.the cheetahs live up to 12-15 years of age.