12 Facts About Cheetahs

Most prone to diseases of all cats
According to the genetic and immunological research it was found that today’s cheetahs probably all come from one very small group of animals that lived about 10,000 years ago. Accordingly, it is determined a very high rate of mating between close relatives, which is almost equal to that in laboratory mice, si they are not resistant to lot disease and also to environmental changes.

King cheetah is not a subspecies but a genetic mutation
As another subspecies of the leopard was long considered a King cheetah. At King cheetah spots have merged into longitudinal stripes. In the meantime has been proven that it is not a subspecies, it is a rare mutation that is inherited by a single recessive gene. In one litter can be found together normally spotty cheetahs and King cheetahs. King cheetahs can be found in the whole of Africa, although they are still rare. But it seems that in recent decades increasingly common.

The fastest land animal in the world
What makes cheetah successful hunters ability – is incredible acceleration and quick changes of direction while running. The cheetah, which belongs to the family of cats, is the fastest land animal, which in the moments of hunger for only three seconds reaches the speed from 0 to 110 km/h. It is much faster than any other mammal, but that speed can run only about 400 meters, after which it gets very tired.

There are seven subspecies of cheetah
They differ seven subspecies of cheetah, five of whom live in Africa and two in Asia. Of those seven, one is extinct, and two more are to be considered on the brink of extinction. Cheetah can be encountered in most of the African continent and in the Sahara, but because of poor ability to adaptation, it is difficult to reproduce and extremely endangered.

Can breath up to 150 times per minute
During normal race cheetah make 60-150 breaths in one minute. Its tail serves as a rudder during the race in order to maintain balance and making sharp turns.

Only 10% of cheetah cubs survive
Unlike some other cats, the cheetah cubs are born with distinctive points and characteristic soft and light fur that is neck stretching to mid back. Unfortunately, the mortality rate is very high during the first weeks; up to 90% of pups are killed by lions, hyenas and eagles, and they were after the thirteenth month of life on their own.

The most successful hunter
They hunt relying on their eyesight, and not on the smell. Stalk the prey until they reach a distance of 10-30 meters. Chasing of prey does not last more than a minute and if the cheetah fails to catch him at the beginning; it will give up rather than wasting energy. While a cheetah can run at full speed only on a short distance, its hunt in 70% of attempts end successfully. No other beast that hunts alone have such a high success rate. (A higher percentage of cheetahs have only animals that hunt in packs).