| The cheetah has had one of the most dramatic lives | | | | it has a hard time adapting to new environments. |
| of any cat. The cheetah was originally around almost | | | | And they are also difficult to breed in |
| 4 million years ago, long before the other big cats. It | | | | captivity.Cheetahs can be found in Africa. They |
| was once very common in Europe, North America, | | | | usually spend their time in a sparse semi-desert and |
| Asia and Africa. Then, about 10,000 years ago, the | | | | grassy plains. The cheetah needs to be near bushes, |
| cheetah disappeared from North America. This | | | | tall grass and other plants, so they can hide from |
| sudden disappearing act was caused by a major | | | | predators. The cheetahs food of choice is |
| climatic change. Evidence that the cheetah existed in | | | | Thompson's gazelles, but they also eat antelope, |
| the US, was found in areas now known as, Texas, | | | | hares, warthog and birds.Females give birth to 1 to 5 |
| Nevada and Wyoming. The cheetah was also gone in | | | | kittens after a gestation period of 90 to 95 days. |
| Europe, and most of those in Asia and Africa had | | | | The mother will move the kittens often, trying to |
| disappeared. Because of this traumatic event, it is | | | | protect them, but eventually the mother has to |
| believed that the cheetahs we see today, were all | | | | leave the kittens alone so she can go find food. This |
| the result of inbreeding and this is why it is hard to | | | | is probably why 90% of the kittens are killed within |
| find markings, that could distinguish one cheetah from | | | | the first three months. The newborns usually leave |
| the next.The cheetah has a sleek, almost fragile | | | | their mothers within 13 to 20 months after birth. The |
| looking body. Its tail is almost as long as its entire | | | | life span of the cheetah can be up to 12 years in the |
| body. But there's a reason for that, the tail provides | | | | wild and up to 20 years in captivity.Because of what |
| balance to the cheetah when it runs. And when it | | | | happened in the past and the events that followed; |
| runs, the cheetah is like no other animal, in fact, it is | | | | the cheetah suffers from a lack of diversity. Because |
| the fastest land animal. The cheetah can reach | | | | of this, they are more prone to disease than other |
| speeds approaching 70 mph. The cheetah hunts with | | | | cats and have a hard time reproducing. Due to the |
| speed, it knocks down its prey before killing it. | | | | continued decline in prey, the loss of places to roam |
| Though the cheetah is fast, it can't sustain its speed | | | | and the illegal killing, cheetahs are finding it hard to |
| for more than a minute, that's why if the cheetah | | | | survive. The cheetah is really a marvelous creature, it |
| doesn't catch its prey early in the chase, it will give | | | | would be a shame to realize, that after all it has done |
| up. Unlike many big cats, a cheetah can purr, but it | | | | just to still be alive, that society can't find a way to |
| cannot roar. The cheetah is a very vulnerable species; | | | | help it continue for centuries to come. |