GOING ON SAFARI
The Cheetah is the next animal on our safari tour of big cats.
We have gazed upon these lithe and sinuous athletes of the animal world in a myriad of habitats from the dunescapes of the Kgalagadi to the undulating bushveld of the greater Kruger. But nowhere, in our minds, are Cheetah more in their element than on the endless plains of the incomparable Serengeti in northern Tanzania.
These fabulous cats were just built for savanna. Engineered by the sands of evolution to specialise as a predator in the niche of the huge open spaces, they dispatch small and medium sized antelope in broad daylight.They are a wonderful synthesis of feline grace and power, and canine style of ruggedness and speed.
BUILT FOR SPEED
The Cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) is native to Africa and central Iran. It is the fastest land animal in the world with help from their light build, long, thin legs, a vertically flattened tail, and a spine that can stretch and elongate by 11 per cent at full stretch to cover more ground with every stride.
They typically measure
67 — 94 cm at the shoulder with an overall length of between 1.1 — 1.5m. Adults weigh between 21 — 72 kg. The head is small, rounded, and has a short snout, and black tear-like facial streaks.
The coat is typically tawny to creamy white or pale buff and is mostly covered with evenly spaced, solid black spots. A rare recessive genetic mutation occasionally produces the magnificent
King Cheetah whose spot pattern merges into stripes, particularly along the back.
However, what really sets the Cheetah apart from the other big cats is the structure of the foot.The paw is extremely dog-like with blunt, only semi-retractile claws. These are essentially the animal’s running spikes allowing for superior traction during high-speed pursuit of prey and turn into grasping talons once their quarry is tripped by an outstretched paw. Unlike other cats, cheetah cannot fully sheath their claws but nonetheless occasionally scratch at trees to hone them and leave their visual and pedal scent gland marks.
The Cheetah’s large nasal passages, easily accommodated in the skull thanks to them having smaller canine teeth than other large cats, ensure fast airflow and the enlarged heart and lungs allow for rapid oxygenation of blood. This facilitates those extremely fast sprints and also allows them to rapidly regain their stamina after a chase.
During a typical chase, their respiratory rate increases from 60 to 150 breaths per minute. Additionally, the reduced viscosity of the blood at higher temperatures eases blood flow and increases oxygen transport. While running, Cheetahs use their flattened tail as a rudder-like means of helping to steer sharp turns and outmanoeuvre their zig-zagging quarry.
ENDANGERED
Historically ranging throughout most of Sub-Saharan Africa and extending eastward into the Middle East and to central India, the cheetah is now distributed mainly in small, fragmented populations in central Iran and southern, eastern, and north-western Africa. In
2016, the global cheetah population was estimated at only around 7,100 individuals in the wild and it is described as ‘Vulnerable’ on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List.
Four subspecies of cheetah are recognised today: South-east African Cheetah (A. j. jubatus) — The world’s largest population of around four thousand ranging across appropriate habitat in Angola, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa, and Mozambique.
Asiatic Cheetah (A. j. venaticus) — Asia’s only surviving Cheetah population is found on Iran’s central plateau and only 43 individuals remain.
North-east African Cheetah (A. j. soemmeringii) — A highly fragmented population scattered across the Central
African Republic, Chad, Ethiopia and South Sudan. North-west African Cheetah (A. j. hecki) — This subspecies occurs in Benin, Algeria, Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso.The largest population of around 190 individuals is in south-central Algeria and north-eastern Mali.
SOCIAL GROUPS
Cheetah are found usually in three types of social groups: females and their cubs, male coalitions, and solitary males. While females lead a nomadic life searching for prey in large home ranges, males tend to be more sedentary and may instead establish smaller territories in areas with plentiful prey and access to females.The Cheetah is mainly diurnal: active mainly during the day but often becomes crepuscular, active during dawn and dusk, in extremes of heat.
Cheetah feed primarily on small to medium sized ungulates, and prefer antelope and gazelles.They typically stalk their prey to within 60 — 70m, charge towards it, trip it during the chase, and bite its throat to suffocate it to death.
Cheetah breed throughout the year and litters of three or four, sometimes five cubs, are born after a gestation of almost three months. Cubs are highly vulnerable to predation by other large carnivores such as hyenas and lions. They are weaned at around four months and are usually independent by 20 months of age, though brothers may leave together and form long term coalitions.
UNDER THREAT
Several factors threaten this amazing felid today: habitat loss, conflict with humans, poaching, and high disease susceptibility are the most prevalent. They are nowhere common and there is concern for the future sustainability of the species due to a reduced genetic diversity across the remaining world population and a dramatic reduction in available wilderness rangeland. Many male Cheetah also carry a high proportion of damaged sperm which both reduces their fertility and impacts on genetic diversity.
Back in the Serengeti on one memorable safari, we had wandered eastward towards the Maasai Koppies when the Land Cruiser came to a grinding halt and a cloud of talcum-fine savanna dust enveloped us momentarily. Our Tanzanian guide colleague, Goodluck Kombe, pointed excitedly to the ridgeline on our left and exclaimed with some urgency: ‘Duma, duma’, the Swahili word for Cheetah. We searched left looking through binoculars and found two magnificent male Cheetah standing resplendent against the azure Serengeti sky. We followed them as they loped in that long legged, liquid stride of theirs and watched as they became focussed on a distant herd of Thomson’s gazelle.
A painstakingly careful stalk ensued, followed by an explosive and blistering sprint at full stretch. A young gazelle was just not quick enough and was soon toppled and over powered. They stood panting over their quarry, these two coursers, these two magnificent beasts, and then began to feed.
We watched, utterly spellbound, as the power and grace of it all unfolded before us, mother nature at work.
The sun began its inexorable descent to the horizon and the two cats acquired a richer hue in the late afternoon light becoming effigies in burnished bronze. Sleek, majestic, and just so impossibly beautiful.