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It’s Great to Be a Cheetah

© 1999 Hugh Thomas. . It’s Great to Be a Cheetah. by Curt Tiffany. I’d Like to Be a Cheetah. Last week I was asked the question: If you were an African animal, which animal would you most like to be, and why?

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It’s Great to Be a Cheetah

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  1. © 1999 Hugh Thomas. It’s Great to Be a Cheetah by Curt Tiffany

  2. I’d Like to Be a Cheetah Last week I was asked the question: • If you were an African animal, which animal would you most like to be, and why? After thinking about it for a little while, I decided I would like to be a cheetah. I knew they were really fast and that they hunted and ate other animals, but that was about it. To make sure I made the right choice, and that I really would like to be a cheetah, I did some research and then tried to put myself in a cheetah’s paws. When I was done, I decided it REALLY would be great to be a cheetah. Then I was asked the question: • If your animal could speak, how would it describe itself and its life in Africa? So I started to have a chat with this friend of mine and here’s what he has to say about being a cheetah…

  3. © Gerald and Buff Corsi, California Academy of Sciences Hear me purr Hear me chirp I Am a Sleek and Beautiful Animal • My fur is yellowish, with dark spots, which allows me to hide in grasses or dappled shade. • I am almost six feet in length. About one-third of my length is because of my long rudder-like tail. • I weigh nearly 125 pounds. • I chirp and purr, instead of roaring. • I was one of the lucky ones. Only half of the cheetahs that are born live to independent adulthood. • My average expected lifespan is 12 to 14 years.

  4. I Am Built for Speed • I have a small head which helps me to have low wind resistance and run faster. • I have long, muscular legs which allow me to take long strides, up to 25 feet. • I have a large heart and large lungs which allow me to hold lots of oxygen. • I have non-retracting claws which helps me to have lots of traction and stability at great speeds. • I have a long tail which helps me to have great balance and agility at high speeds. • I can run at speeds up to 70 mph for distances up to 1,000 yards.

  5. I Am Faster Than Any Other Animal I am the fastest animal in the world. I can run the 200 Meter Dash about three times faster than the fastest human. Michael Johnson,world record holder: 19.32 seconds Cheetahs: 6.0 – 7.0 seconds Microsoft Clipart

  6. Top Speed Comparison Miles per hour

  7. I Am Faster Than a Race Car Too! When it comes to acceleration, I can beat a race car too! I can go from 0 to 45 mphintwo seconds. A Ferrari goes from 0 to 45 mph infour seconds. That means I can accelerate twice as fast as a race car.

  8. © Microsoft® Encarta® 2002. © Microsoft® Encarta® 2002. I Live Among Friends Like most cheetahs, I live in Namibia, Africa. Namibia, a small country in Africa, is the cheetah capital of the world. With over 2,000 cheetahs, Namibia is home to about one-sixth of the world’s 12,000 cheetahs. About 2,000 other cheetahs are captive in zoos and reserves in other parts of the world.

  9. © 1999 Hugh Thomas. I Get to Hang Out With the Guys Cheetahs are born in litters of one to six cubs. The mother feeds them for two years until they develop hunting skills of their own. Most female cheetahs hunt alone but males like me “hang” together to hunt and look for mates.

  10. I Am Perfectly Suited for My Habitat I live in a wooded grassland savannah which is perfect for finding my prey. I eat hoofed animals that feed on grass. The grasslands are good grazing grounds for cattle and sheep, which are especially tasty. I hunt during the day. My low stature allows me to sneak through the tall grass of the savannah without being seen. The ability to perform a surprise attack on my target is important if I want to have something to eat.

  11. © 1999 Hugh Thomas. I Am a Great Hunter I sneak within 100 feet of my prey. Then, I race in at close to 70 miles an hour, and pounce on my target, quickly pulling down my prey. My small jaw doesn’t allow me to kill in one deadly bite, so I press on the throat of my victim until it suffocates. I am not dependent on water holes like my prey; I get most of the water I need from the animals I eat. My main sources of food are antelope, gazelle, hares and impala. © Gerald and Buff Corsi, California Academy of Sciences

  12. SUN I Am a Consumer in the Food Web The sun gives life and energy to all the plants and animals. I eventually give energy to the hyena which feeds on me once I have died or am sick. The grass gives energy to the antelope. When the hyena dies or is killed it gives energy to the soil so the grass grows. The antelope gives energy to me when I eat it. All animals give back to the soil when they die or through their waste. Key = Gives energy to

  13. © Gerald and Buff Corsi, California Academy of Sciences My Future Is Protected Being a cheetah makes me a protected animal, but unfortunately many cheetahs like me are still hunted. Our cheetah population is in decline. Unless caring humans like you take steps to protect us, we will eventually be found only in zoos and wildlife parks.

  14. What Is the Price of Life? • Cheetahs are an endangered species. • Without protection from humans, my population will soon be extinct. • We are living things and need humans to protect us since humans are the ones taking away our homes and killing us for money. • You can’t put a price on a living thing’s life. Every life is important and animals like me have just as much a right to live a long healthy life as humans do. • Once we are gone, you can never bring us back! Cheetahs are beautiful, graceful creatures that need protection! • Without us, an important piece in the circle of life would be missing. Other animals, like antelope, would suffer if we were not part of their food web. • Life has no price!

  15. It’s Great to Be a Cheetah Even though cheetahs are an endangered species, if you are an African animal, a cheetah is great animal to be! • Cheetahs are sleek and beautiful animals. • They are built for speed. • They live among friends. • They are perfectly suited for their habitat. • They are great hunters. • They are consumers in the food web. • They are protected animals. It’s great to be a cheetah, don’t you agree?

  16. Works Cited • Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County http://www.lam.mus.ca.us/cats/encyclo/jubatus/index.htm • The Cheetah Spot http://www.cheetahspot.com/ • Cheetah Outreach http://www.cheetah.co.za/ • PBS Cheetahs in a hot spot http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/cheetahs/ • The Trade Environment Database (TED) http://www.american.edu/ted/cheetah.htm • Christina’s Big Cats of the World http://home.iprimus.com.au/tigris/cheetah.htm • Tanzania Photographs by Hugh Thomas http://www.hughnjudy.freeuk.com/tanzania.htm • Berkeley Digital Library Project: California Academy of Sciences Photos http://elib.cs.berkeley.edu/photos/ • Microsoft Encarta 2002 • Microsoft Office XP Clip Art

  17. Works Cited – Speed Comparisons http://balancedassessment.gse.harvard.edu/docs/hl066.doc http://www.epva.org/Donation/animal3.htm http://www.pbs.org/edens/canyonlands/canyonlands.htm http://www.amnh.org/nationalcenter/Endangered/dog/dog.html http://www.hlla.com/reference/anafr-cheetahs.html http://archives.emazing.com/archives/science/2000-04-11

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