Cheetahs are large felid of subfamily that occurs mainly in eastern and southern Africa and a few parts of Iran. The cheetah is characterized by a slender body, potted coat ,deep chest ,long thin legs and spotted tail, small rounded head, black tear-like streaks on the face, the cheetah is lightly built, slander form in sharp contrast with the robust build of the big cats.
The cheetah reaches nearly 70 to 90 cm at the shoulder and weighs 21-72kg.though taller than leopard, a cheetah is smaller than a lion. Its yellow ishtan or rufous to grayish white the coat is2, 000 black spots. Cheetahs are active during the day, hunting is their major activity.
Adult males are sociable despite their territoriality, forming groups called coalitions. Females are not territorial; they may be solitary or live with their offspring in home ranges. Carnivores, cheetah is mainly preys on gazelles and antelopes’ and gazelles.
Cheetahs will stalk their prey within 100 -300meters.a cheetah takes charge by moving towards enemy and killing it by tripping the chase and biting its throat to suffocate till death.
The cheetah’s body is specialized for speed, meaning a cheetah is the fastest land animal.
The speed of a hunting cheetah is 64km/hr during sprint, the chase is interspersed with a few short bursts of speed, and the animals attain 112km/hr, although this is disputed by more recent measurement.
Gestation
Cheetahs breed throughout the year. Gestation period is three months long, giving birth to three to five cubs although the number of calves can vary from one to eight.
Weaning occurs at six months, siblings tend to stay together for sometime .cheaters cubs face higher mortality than other mammals especially Serengeti region of Tanzania. Cheetahs inhabit verity of habitats scrub forests, dry forests and savannahs.
Conservation
International union for conservation of Nature, the cheetahs has suffered a substantial decline in its historic range due to rampant hunting in the 20th century.
African countries have taken great steps to improve and maintain the standards of cheetah’s conservation. By 2016 to 2017, cheetahs global population had fallen to a total number of 7100 individuals in the wild due to habitat loss, illegal pet trade, poaching and conflict with humans, cheetahs are reclassified as endangered.
The word Cheetah is derived from the Hindi word (cita),which in turn comes from Sanskrit word citrakayah which means ‘bright’ or variegated .The first recorded use of this word has been dated back to 1610.another name for cheetah is ‘hunting leopard’.
The cheetah is the only extant species of the genus .the cheetahs close relative is a puma.
Although the cheetah is an African cat, they possibly diverged from 8.5million years ago.
The cheetahs diverged from the puma around 6.7 million years ago. The bottleneck cheetahs have been associated with migrations across Asia and into Africa; this is with a depletion of prey species at the end.
Cheetah’s fossils are found in the lower beds of the site in northern Tanzania .The fossils are about three million years old. These species are more notably and larger than modern cheetahs.
South African cheetahs are nominate subspecies, they occur in southern African countries such as Botswana, Namibia, south Africa, Zambia, Mozambique and Zimbabwe although their more extinct in the Democratic Republic of Congo. It is one of the most numerous cheetah introduced in the Hlane Royal National park in Swaziland which was later on reintroduced in the Liwonde National park of Malawi.
The south African cheetahs are more increasing in south Africa, Botswana and Namibia .they were once thought to be extinct for 30 years, wild cheetahs were persistent in Iona National park in southwestern Angola in 2010 for the first time ,since their decline in Zimbabwe in 1999,this occurred as well as in Mozambique in1980-90s during the civil wars.
Sudan cheetah is found in the Northeast, centralor African cheetah. Fragmented in the central and northeastern regions of the continent and African cheetah. Fragmented in the central and northeastern region of the continent and the Horn of Africa.
This subspecies was considered identical to the South African cheetah until in 2011 genetic analysis demonstrated differences between the two.
Northwest African cheetah
This type of cheetah is found in different countries including Benin, Burkin faso, Niger.
Tanzanian cheetah
This type of cheetah is called the Eat African cheetah. It’s also found in Kenya Somalia, Tanzania and Uganda. The Total population occur in the Maasai mara and Serengeti co –region.
Best areas to see the cheetahs in Uganda they can be often spotted in Kidepo valley park some years people have spotted cheetahs on the Northern side of Murchison falls National Park. Kidepo national park has become the most visited valley to see cheetahs in Uganda in East Africa.
Cheetahs prefer open grass areas, mountains, hills .The openness of the park with grasslands fits the cheetahs and their life style in areas they will hurt.
Cheetahs are the most beautiful cats to spot in the wild of kidepo valley National park.
Cheetahs are productive cat; few of the cubs survive predator’s illnesses that come from lack of genetic diversity. There are 20% of the cubs survive and grow into adulthood.
Females, mothers are solitary animals, while males will partner with two or three males and go on the hunt and there lots of animals to hunt at kidepo valley National park, the best area to spot them out.
Kidepo valleys national park its one of the remote parks in East African and the might home to cheetahs.