Ranger Rick Cheetah Tricks September 2015

Cheetah Tricks

By Kathy Kranking; photos by Suzi Eszterhas

In their race for survival, cheetahs have some helpful tricks up their spotted sleeves.

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WATCH IT!

1. Be a Running Machine
Cheetahs are famously fast, reaching speeds of 60 miles per hour in just three seconds! That’s about as fast as a car goes on the highway. These cats’ bodies are built for running down prey. Their long legs and flexible spines let them cover 25 feet in a single stride. And their claws help them get a grip on the ground for fast starts and quick changes in direction. Cheetahs also have extra-large lungs to gulp in lots of air as they run.

2. Wear Eye Makeup
One of the first things you notice about a cheetah is the black lines that go down from its eyes. They’re for more than looks, though. Dark colors absorb more sunlight than light ones. So the dark stripes help to reduce the sun’s glare when the cheetah is hunting. The black marks football players wear under their eyes work the same way.

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3. Do a Disappearing Act
With their golden, spotted fur, cheetahs blend into the darks and lights of the grasses in their African home. This camouflage (CAM-uh-flahzh) keeps cheetahs hidden as they hunt for prey. And it makes cheetah cubs harder for predators to see.

By the way, cheetahs are the only big cats that have solid spots. And if you could part a cheetah’s hair to peek at its skin, you’d see that it’s spotted, too!

4. Use “Tree Mail”
Cheetahs use certain trees to communicate with each other. They spray the trees with urine to leave messages. The messages may say things such as, “No trespassing” or “I was here.” By sniffing the trees, cheetahs get the latest news. It’s usually males that spray the trees, but females may spray to let males know that they’re ready to mate.

5. Play Hide-and-Seek
A mother cheetah has a huge job. All alone, she must take care of her cubs—sometimes as many as six of them. She cleans them, feeds them, and tries to keep them safe. But predators, such as lions and hyenas, are a real danger to cheetah cubs. So every few days, the mom moves her babies to a new nest. One by one, she picks them up gently in her mouth and carries them to the new location. Hiding the babies this way can help the mom stay one step ahead of predators that might pick up the babies’ scent.

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6. Play Hard
Whether chasing each other, having a “slap fight”, or attacking Mom’s head (below), cheetah cubs love to play! But playing is more than fun—it’s also serious business. Playing helps cubs develop coordination and timing. And it teaches them lessons such as stalking, chasing, and pouncing—skills they’ll need later to become good hunters.

7. Be a Copycat
In order to learn important life lessons, cheetah cubs watch their mom and do what she does. For instance, adult cheetahs spend a lot of time staring at the horizon, watching for prey or predators. They can see as well as a person looking through binoculars. The cubs learn by watching their mom, so they stare, too. When the cubs are the right age, their mom starts taking them on hunting trips. They watch her to learn what to do, then begin practicing themselves.

8. Move Like a Ninja
Speed is only part of what makes a cheetah a good hunter. This cat has to be sneaky, too. A cheetah can chase prey at top speed for only a short distance. So it needs to get as close to its prey as it can first—by stalking, or moving slowly and staying low to the ground. Then, when the cheetah is close enough, it zooms after the prey. As it overtakes the animal, the cheetah reaches out a paw and trips it. Then it bites the animal’s throat, killing it quickly. After a chase, a cheetah needs to rest for up to half an hour.

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9. Know When to Give Up
It’s hard work catching prey, and even the best hunters aren’t always successful. So sometimes cheetahs take the easy way out and prey on farm animals. It seems like a good solution to the cheetahs—but not to the farmers, who then kill cheetahs to protect their animals. The good news is that now many farms are using dogs to solve the problem. Puppies are raised on the farms with the animals. The puppies bond with the farm animals and later ­protect them by barking at any predators. The cheetahs stay away and are safe. It’s a “doggone” good idea!

10. Be Popular
People love cheetahs for their beauty, speed, and gentle nature. For tourists that come to Africa, getting to see a cheetah—or even having some climb onto their safari truck—is a dream come true. Sadly, cheetahs are Africa’s most endangered big cats because of conflicts with humans, habitat loss, and other problems. But people are working on many ways to help them. They hope that cheetahs will continue racing across the grasslands far into the future.

That’s the end!

For more about cheetahs, visit https://cheetah.org/kids/cheetah-facts 

 

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