Here’s where you get your Cheetah. This graceful cat is perfectly designed to do two things exceptionally well; sneak and run. It has been clocked at speeds upwards of 70-75 mph! More remarkably, this animal can hit 0-68 in around 3 seconds, leaving a sports car in its dust. It has an aerodynamically small head and its long body acts like a spring in full sprint. Include long legs and you have an animal that can clear distances of 30 feet between touching the ground when running at full tilt! The cat’s long tail acts as a rudder, helping it maintain balance in high speed turns. Your favorite spotted feline can only maintain those high speeds for a short distance (1500 ft) before shifting down to a trot, though, which means it has to get close before ambushing its prey. The spots and coloring on a cheetah break up its silhouette wonderfully in the tall-grass savannahs that are its hunting grounds.
Cheetahs average litters of 3 to 5 cubs who learn to hunt and survive exclusively from their mothers. Adult females live solitary lives. Males often form lasting sibling groups. They live in competition with other big cats and their young sometimes fall prey to lions and other opportunistic hunters.
Due to loss of habitat and prey, competition, limited genetic diversity and the usual culprit (humans), cheetahs are horribly endangered. Until recently, captive breeding has seen little success though there have been some recent positive results. If you’d like to do your part to help preserve this amazing and most unusual “big” cat, please consider contributing to their conservation. The African Wildlife Fund (four star rated by Charity Navigator for responsible allocation of its resources) is one option. Another consideration is the Cheetah Conservation Fund. Though I couldn’t find an evaluation of their resource allocation, their cause is certainly worthy.