Cheetahs are Shrewd

Anticipation ripples through the crowd. Fingers tighten around binoculars. Camera lenses snap into focus. No fewer than 11 canopied safari buses, bright with tourists and bristling with long lenses, huddle near a solitary acacia tree in Tanzania’s Serengeti National Park. For the past half hour a mother cheetah named Etta has been sitting in the shade with her four young cubs, eyeing a herd of Thomson’s gazelles that drifted into view on a nearby rise. Now she’s up and moving, sidling toward the herd with a studied nonchalance that fools no one, least of all the gazelles, which are staring nervously in her direction.

Suddenly one of the guides shouts, as the gazelles break and run and Etta launches into an explosive sprint. The sleek cat is too fast for the eye to follow, blurring through the grass like a bullet. The drama is over in seconds, ending with a puff of dust and a stranglehold on a luckless young gazelle. As Etta drags the carcass back to her cubs, they emerge from the scrub eager to tuck into the feast. The safari buses are only seconds behind, the drivers jockeying to get the best camera angles for their customers.

Cheetahs have come to occupy a curious place in the human imagination. Beautiful and exotic, sports car fast and famously docile, they are as much media stars as denizens of the wild, darlings of filmmakers and advertisers the world over. Tap “cheetah” and “images” into your computer’s search bar, and more than 20 million results pop up—from fashion shoots to flashy car ads to photos of pet cheetahs riding in the backseats of Mercedes convertibles.

All this pop culture presence might create the impression that cheetahs are as secure in nature as they are in the popular imagination. They are not. In fact, cheetahs are the most vulnerable of the world’s big cats, surprisingly rare and growing steadily rarer. A few centuries ago cheetahs roamed from the Indian subcontinent to the shores of the Red Sea and throughout much of Africa. As fleet of foot as they are, though, they couldn’t outrun the long reach of humanity. 

Today the Asiatic cheetah, the elegant subspecies that once graced the royal courts of India, Persia, and Arabia, is all but extinct. In Africa cheetah numbers plummeted by more than 90 percent during the course of the 20th century, as farmers, ranchers, and herdsmen crowded the cats out of their habitat, hunters shot them for sport, and poachers captured cubs for the lucrative trade in exotic pets. In all, fewer than 10,000 cheetahs survive in the wild today.

Read The Whole Article Here : 

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2012/11/cheetahs/

Iranian Cheetahs -- Critically Endangered Big Cat Predators

Yes, That's Right. I am talking about Asiatic Cheetahs that live in Iran.

They are on the brink of starvation because of the lack of natural prey.

Unfortunately, there are only 50 of them left in the wild in Iran.

It is sad to say this, that some wildlife lovers all across the world are more interested in saving Mega Fauna and Mega Herbivores like Rhinos rather than saving "Critically Endangered" Asiatic Cheetahs that live in the Desert Region of Central Iran, a species that needs our immediate attention.

Eating Habits :

Asiatic Cheetahs that live in the Central Iranian Desert Region prey almost exclusively on various kinds of Desert Antelopes, specially desert dwelling gazelles.

The Desert Antelope that forms a large part of the diet of Asiatic Cheetahs is the "Arabian Oryx".

Arabian Oryx are medium sized antelopes found in Desert Areas from Oman to Iran.

Breeding Behaviour :

Female Asiatic Cheetahs are ready to conceive when they are 2 years old. They usually give birth to Cheetah Cubs at any point in the year. The average size of a litter is usually 4 Cubs.

After a gestation period of 3 Months, Cheetah Cubs are usually born. They are protected by their mother in a cave which is usually situated in a cliff of a rocky mountain.

Unlike African Cheetahs, Asiatic Cheetahs that live in Iran have a coat that is not very long. This has helped them to adapt to the Harsh Winters and Harsh Summers in Central Iran.

Conclusion :

We need to act now to save Asiatic Cheetahs that live in Central Iran. Wildlife Conservationists need to impress upon the Iranian Government in Teheran about the need to save this "Charismatic Feline" from total extinction.

Efforts should be made to increase this Wild Cat Population.

If necessary, Desert Antelopes like the Arabian Oryx need to be introduced in large numbers for the daily sustenance of these Asiatic Cheetahs.

Credits and References :

All You need to know about Wild Cheetahs

http://www.arkive.org/cheetah/acinonyx-jubatus/image-G113716.html

Tanzanian Cheetahs -- Marathon Runners

The East African Cheetah or Tanzanian Cheetah can be found in Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda and Somalia. However, the best places to see them are the Serengeti and the Masai Mara, where the majority of the population lives.

It is obvious from the name of the Cheetah that they are quite plentiful in the Serengeti Biosphere Reserve in Tanzania. 

Archaeologists found remains of a cheetah in the lower beds of the Oldupai Gorge in Northern Tanzania which date back to a few million years ago, making the Tanzanian cheetah the oldest of the subspecies.

The Tanzanian Cheetah is not only the oldest, but also the largest of the subspecies, average sizes range between 200 and 220 cm in length and a weight of 40 to 60 kilograms!

In terms of colour, the Tanzanian Cheetah, after the Northwest African Cheetah, has the palest colouration. The coat ranges from white-yellowish to a tawny coat. The many spots on the coat can be found all over the body, even on the tail. Towards the end of the tail these spots merge into rings and finally at the tip of the long tail is a white tuft.

One of the most iconic features of a Tanzanian Cheetah has to be the dark tear marks, which run from the corner of their eyes all the way down to their mouth. These tear marks play a vital role for the cheetah. They help to reflect the glare of the sun when they are hunting during the day. Some say that these marks also act like the sights of a rifle, to help the Cheetah aim and stay focused on the prey that they are hunting.

The Tanzanian Cheetahs main diet includes Thomson and Grant’s Gazelles.

Larger animals like impalas, wildebeests and topi antelopes are usually hunted by a coalition of males. Single females tend to prefer smaller antelopes. On occasion, cheetahs will also hunt rabbits and hares. Cheetahs are known as the fastest land animals in the world. In just a few seconds and a few strides they can reach speeds of up to 100 kilometers per hour and more!

They also have manoeuvrability on their side, the long tail acts like a rudder which aids them to execute extremely quick turns when chasing prey and they also have semi retractable claws which give the cats traction at high speed. Tanzanian Cheetahs prefer to hunt early in the morning and if need be then during midday. After catching their prey, they usually eat as quick as possible to avoid conflict with other predators.

In terms of socialising, females tend to live solitary lives whereas the males form groups known as coalitions. These coalitions are not always made up of brothers from the same litter and on occasions males will join other coalitions. The territories of females can be huge and the males try to set their home range amongst other females to ensure high mating chances.

The Tanzania Cheetah is a truly beautiful creature, which has perfected its niche and it is always a great reward to see them in the wild.

Credits : Tanzania Experience

Help Stop The Extinction of Saharan Cheetahs

Deserts cover a large portion of the Earth's Mass.

There are Herbivorous and Carnivorous Species that live in Desert Areas, making some Deserts a "Potential Bio-Diversity Hotspot".

There are many species that live under "Harsh Conditions" in Desert Regions.

In an Environment, like the Sahara Desert in West Africa and North Africa "Low Precipitation" is the norm.

Herbivorous Prey are normally found in the Sahara Desert in small numbers.

Ditto is the case for Big Cat Predators that live on the periphery or in the Sahara Desert itself.

The Last Saharan Cheetahs :

One such Big Cat Predator that is rare, elusive, and found in the Sahara Desert is the "Saharan Cheetah".

It is a "Critically Endangered" Big Cat Predator mostly found in the Desert Regions of Algeria and Mali.

That, there exists Saharan Cheetahs in the Sahara Desert and in the neighboring Sahel Region is new to Scientists and Wildlife Biologists.

This Saharan Cheetah is a "Resilient" Big Cat Predator living in extremely harsh conditions where Herbivorous Prey and Water are hard to find.

Scientists, say that there are roughly 200 odd Saharan Cheetahs most of whom who live in Southern Algeria and in Mali.

The remainder live in arid areas of the Saharan Desert in countries such as Niger, Benin, and Burkina Faso.

Saharan Cheetahs in Algeria and Mali have been found to be active almost completely at night when temperatures in the Desert are at their lowest.

Saharan Cheetahs have been found preying on 2 Kinds of Desert Dwelling Gazelles.

They are Dama's Gazelle and Dorca's Gazelle. This has been conclusively established by Camera Traps.

Conclusion :

Saharan Cheetahs desperately need our help today. Let us do something constructive for them.

Credits :

1) The National Center for Biotechnology Information on the Saharan Cheetah.

2) Daily Kos -- "Ghost in the Sand Dunes, The Cheetahs of the Sahara.

Introduction

This Blog is exclusively dedicated to the Safety and Welfare of Cheetahs in Africa as well as in Asia.

Cheetahs are the fastest land mammals.

They face a number of threats in the wild specially in Sub Saharan Africa as well as in some parts of Southern Africa and East Africa.

The chief threat to their existence is Loss of Habitat and Loss of Natural Prey due to Man's Interference with nature.

Cheetahs are sleek animals that face daily threats from Lions and Lion Prides as they are seen as Competitors for Prey.

Enjoy This Blog.