Cheetahs

1. Cheetahs By Monique

2. Menu Fast facts Pictures Quiz Diet and hunting The end

3. End Fast Facts Menu • The Cheetah is the fastest land animal on Earth. • Cheetahs can reach up to speeds of 104 kph. • Cheetahs can reach up to 72 kph in just two seconds. • Cheetahs have non-retractable claws (their claws don’t come back in) that give them a strong grip on the ground to help them turn when they are running fast. • Cheetahs have 2000 to 3000 spots. • Cheetahs can live seven to ten years in the wild and up to 16 years in captivity. • The Cheetahs long tails helps it to keep its balance as it runs. • Cheetahs can see up to three miles away. • Cheetahs make a chirping sound to communicate with each other. • From a standstill, the cheetah can reach its top speed in about 3 seconds. • Cheetahs don’t need to drink water, as they get the moisture they need from the bodies of their prey. • Cheetahs are the only cats that, while sprinting, can turn in midair to follow their prey. • Cheetah cubs have a long mane on their neck and shoulders that disappears as they get older.

4. Menu Diet and Hunting • Running at speeds up to 112 kph puts a great deal of strain on the cheetah's body. When sprinting, the cheetah's body temperature becomes so high that it would be deadly to continue; this is why the cheetah is often seen resting after it has caught its prey. If it is a hard chase, it sometimes needs to rest for half an hour or more. The cheetah kills its prey by tripping it during the chase. Then the cheetah proceeds to devour its catch as quickly as possible before the kill is taken by stronger predators. • The diet of a cheetah is dependent upon the area in which it lives. For example, on the East Africa plains, its preferred prey is the Thomson's Gazelle. This small antelope is shorter than the cheetah (about 58–70 cm tall and 70–107 cm long), and also cannot run faster than the cheetah (only up to 80 kph), which combine to make it an appropriate prey. Cheetahs look for individuals which have strayed some distance from their group, and do not necessarily seek out old or weak ones. • The cheetah is a carnivore, eating mostly mammals under 40 kg, including the Gazelle, the springbok and the Impala. The young of larger mammals such as Wildebeests and Zebras are eaten sometimes. Adults are also eaten when the cats hunt in groups. Guineafowl and hares are also prey. While the other big cats mainly hunt by night, the cheetah is an animal that hunts during the day. It hunts usually either early in the morning or later in the evening when it is not so hot, but there is still enough light. • The cheetah hunts by vision rather than by scent. Prey is stalked to within 10–30 m, then chased. This is usually over in less than a minute, and if the cheetah fails to make a catch quickly, it will give up. The cheetah has an average hunting success rate of around 50% - half of its chases result in failure. End

5. Menu Quiz What is the percentage that the cheetah has when hunting? A. 25% of the time B. 75% of the time C. 50% of the time. What is the cheetahs top speed? • 104kph B. 204kph C. 156kph True or false. Is the cheetah the fastest land animal on earth? How far can the cheetah see up to? A. 3 miles B. 2 miles C. 1 mile End

6. P I C T U R E S Menu End

7. THE END Information sourced from: Wikipedia www.buzzle.com/articles/cheetah-facts.html End Menu