Cheetah

(Acinonyx Jubatus)

I chose to do my television project on the cheetah which I saw on

the Discovery Channel. Although I knew some interesting characteristics

on the cheetah, I did happen to discover some facts I did not know. Those of which are written in the rest of the paper along with some facts I

thought were pretty cool.

The cheetah is an endangered species and has been for quit some time. This is mainly due to poachers who hunt and kill this animal for it s illustrious fur of different colors. It s coat is very coarse and a goldish color including some round black spots for camouflage. It has tear strips

running from it s eyes to it s nose. The next part was surprising to me in

that the cheetah is only 44-53 inches long. On the TV they always seem bigger somehow. And the tail is about 26-33 inches long! Their average weight is 86-143 pounds, surprisingly light for such a powerful animal.

It s low weight, it seems, is what allows it have it s high top speed of

sixty miles per hour. It is regarded as one the fastest hunters in the world

and of course, the fastest land animal in existence. I also found that it s

habitat is in the grassy plains of Africa. This is definitely a great place for it to hide based on it s coat color. It is because of this combination of tall grass and camouflage coat which allows the cheetah to stalk and catch

it s prey. These usually consist of gazelles, wild boar, or pretty much any

animal it can handle. However, the regular range for it s food is about 88

pounds. The cheetah then drags the meat to it s home , away from prying animals, and feasts on it immediately.

The cheetah is a very interesting, solitary animal which I have always been interested in and was contented to research and learn many facts on this magnificent animal I did not know before the project. From the length and weight of the animal to it s eating habits, I found it to be a very interesting animal and one I would recommend to be researched by anyone interested in wild animals, especially cats.