Anyone who has either traveled on safari in Africa or watched a nature show on television is probably familiar with one of the world’s most beautiful cats – the cheetah. This streamlined feline is perfectly adapted for speed, speed, speed. No other land mammal is as fast as the cheetah, which has a top speed of 60-70 miles per hour! But the adaption for speed comes with a price. As Richard Estes has noted in his excellent book, The Behavior Guide to African Mammals, “in acquiring the speed to catch the fleetest antelopes, the cheetah sacrificed the strength and weapons needed to defend its kills and offspring against competitors.” Lions, leopards, and wild dogs have all been known to kill cheetahs, and cheetahs also often lose their own kills to lions, wild dogs, and spotted hyenas.
We were very fortunate to see this mother and juvenile cheetah in Tarangire National Park during our dry-season ungulate surveys.
0 Comments
Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
Leave a Reply. |
Science News and Updates From the Field from Wild Nature Institute.
All Photos on This Blog are Available as Frame-worthy Prints to Thank Our Generous Donors.
Email Us for Details of this Offer. Archives
April 2021
|
Mailing Address:
Wild Nature Institute PO Box 44 Weaverville, NC 28787 Phone: +1 415 763 0348 Email: info@wildnatureinstitute.org |
|