Cheetah Acinonyx jubatus EX EW CR EN VU NT LC The cheetah is well known for its lean body great speed and spotted coat Years of persecution have made it one of the world’s most vulnerable big cats O the the world’s fastest land animal over short distances the cheetah is also the most ancient of all the big cats Cheetahs probably evolved on the plains of the Middle East four million years ago Fossil evidence shows that 10,000 years ago cheetahs roamed in places as far apart as North America Europe Asia and Africa The cheetah’s heyday lasted until the last ice age since then human populations have exploded and the cheetah’s range and numbers have shrunk In their ancestral homeland of the Middle East the Asian subspecies of cheetah is Critically Endangered with very few if any animals left in remote parts of Iran and Afghanistan The situation is only slightly better in Africa Cheetahs differ from other big cats in their adaptations for hunting The shape of a cheetah a narrow elongated body and long muscular legs is ideal for sprinting Unlike its cousins the cheetah cannot completely retract its claws it needs them to provide extra grip when running at high speeds Cheetahs take advantage of the fact that other large predators rest during the hottest part of the day and do their hunting in the late morning and early afternoon A cheetah first stalks its prey then runs it down at speeds of up to 60 miles per hour 95 km h The flexibility of the cat’s long spine allows it to take huge strides Most chases are over in about 20 seconds any prey that can evade capture for more than a minute will probably escape since the cheetah cannot maintain its speed for long Cheetahs kill by clamping their jaws around the victim’s throat This has the effect of closing off the windpipe so the prey stops breathing The cheetah does not have particularly big teeth but exceptionally large nostrils ensure that even when out of breath from the chase it can inhale deeply through its nose while maintaining a suffocating grip with its jaws Cheetah Acinonyx jubatus Family Felidae World population 7,000 10,000 Distribution Sub-Saharan Africa excluding Congo Basin most of South Africa Iran Habitat Grasslands DATA PANEL Size Length head body 44 60 in 112 152 cm tail 20 33 in 51 84 cm height at shoulder 25 37 in 64 94 cm males slightly larger than females Weight 86 143 lb 39 65 kg Form Slender big cat with long muscular legs small head and long curved tail Coat golden yellow with black spots small rounded ears black stripes either side of nose Diet Mainly gazelles also impala warthogs small antelopes gamebirds and hares Breeding Between 1 and 8 young average 3 5 born at any time of year peak births March June Life span 12 14 years in the wild up to 17 years in captivity Related endangered species No close relatives Status IUCN VU Asian subspecies A jubatus venaticus CR 8
Cheetah means spotted one in Hindi and every cheetah has markings as unique as a fingerprint In some Zimbabwean cheetahs the spots along the back and tail join up to form a blotchy pattern Animals with this distinctive pattern are called king cheetahs and they were once thought to be a separate subspecies However it has been shown that they are simply part of the natural variation within the local population The black tear stripes on the cheetah’s face are thought to help protect their eyes from sunlight reflecting off their cheeks Human athletes imitate this idea when they daub paint across their cheeks and noses Cheetahs breed at any time of year A female is in heat and ready to mate every 12 days unless she already has cubs She will give birth to three to five cubs per litter but infant mortality is high and fewer A cheetah can achieve speeds of 0 to 45 miles per hour 0 to 72 km h in 2 5 seconds acceleration to rival some sports cars than one-third of all cubs survive to adulthood Small widely scattered cheetah populations mean that much inbreeding occurs and many cubs are born with genetic defects A solution might be to release some animals from captivity bringing in fresh genetic stock Tourist Attraction Cheetahs face problems even in protected national parks Tourists want to see the cheetahs wherever possible and this tends to scare off prey and distracts the animals from hunting Disturbance of cheetah kills also allows scavengers such as jackals to nip in and steal the food Cheetahs are not good at defending themselves from this sort of interference 9
EX CR EW Leopard Panthera pardus The adaptable leopard is a very widespread species and is still quite common in some parts of Africa However elsewhere hunting for fur persecution by farmers and loss of habitat have brought several subspecies to the brink of extinction NT LC EN VU O leopards leopards are the most adaptable of the big cats They can live in a wide variety of climates and habitat types so long as they have a plentiful supply of food and secure cover in which to hide their food rear their young and rest during the day Prey can be anything from large antelopes and pigs to rats rabbits and birds and if times are really hard insects The leopard can live in forests or open spaces and at altitudes ranging from sea level to well over 16,000 feet 5,000 m Leopards from different places often differ in appearance none so much as the black panther an all black or melanistic leopard that inhabits dark humid forests in Southeast Asia Regional differences are not always this obvious but because leopards from one population are usually isolated from those elsewhere they are recognized as distinct subspecies As one would expect for such a generalist predator able to cope with extremes of climate the leopard’s distribution is large In fact it has the widest range of any cat Leopards once thrived in areas ranging from the baking savannas of South Africa to the lofty Himalayas from the Javan rain forests to windswept Siberian plateaus They are still present in these places but in all but their African stronghold the species is in serious trouble Panthera pardus panthera DATA PANEL Leopard Panthera pardus Family Felidae World population Probably considerably fewer than the 700,000 estimated in 1988 Distribution Largest populations in sub Saharan Africa with scattered and shrinking populations in northern Africa the Middle East Pakistan India Bangladesh Sri Lanka China Siberia Korea Indochina and Indonesia Habitat Very diverse includes forests grasslands and deserts lowlands and mountains anywhere where there is sufficient food and cover such as trees scrub or rocks Size Length head body 35 75 in 90 190 cm tail 22 42 in 58 110 cm height to shoulder 17 5 31 in 45 78 cm males up to 50 bigger than females Weight 61 200 lb 28 90 kg Form Large pale buff to deep chestnut cat marked with rosettes of dark on body and tail head marked with smaller spots belly and legs with large blotches very dark or black individuals are known as black panthers Diet Mostly hoofed animals such as gazelles wildebeest deer goats and pigs including livestock also takes monkeys rodents rabbits birds and invertebrates Breeding Between 1 and 6 usually 2 or 3 cubs born after gestation of 13 15 weeks at any time of year in Africa more seasonal elsewhere weaned at 3 months mature at 3 years may live over 20 years Related endangered species Asiatic lion Panthera leo persica CR tiger P tigris EN snow leopard Uncia uncia EN lion P leo VU jaguar P onca NT Status IUCN NT but some subspecies more seriously threatened Isolated Javan leopard Panthera pardus melas for example is CR 10
Changing Circumstances The problems for leopards in different parts of the species range vary so widely that the IUCN places different regional subspecies in different categories of threat In sub Saharan Africa leopards are still relatively numerous especially inside national parks such as the Serengeti Here the protection the leopards receive and the abundant prey available to them mean that they are doing very well The leopard is legally protected in almost every country in its range although several nations permit limited hunting and licenses for hunting and export of skins and mounted trophies are granted on a regular basis The licenses are restricted by country and usually account for between 1,000 and 2,000 leopards a year This level of hunting is probably sustainable and an improvement on the situation in the 1960s and 1970s when over 50,000 leopards were killed a year Legal hunting may not be the threat it once was but outside protected habitats which account for only about 13 percent of the species range leopards are LEOPARD suffering from habitat loss persecution and poaching Five subspecies from northwestern Africa the Middle East Siberia and Korea are listed as Critically Endangered with populations of fewer than 250 animals and in one case as few as 17 Four other subspecies from the Middle East Southeast Asia and Indonesia are listed as Endangered Unlike other big cats leopards do not seem to mind living alongside people When areas of natural habitat are settled and turned over to agriculture the adaptable leopard does not automatically move on Many will stick around and adjust their behavior to make the best living they can under the circumstances Some leopards attack livestock and others even become man eaters so most governments permit the shooting of problem leopards Man eating leopards seem to be a particular problem in India where dozens of people are killed by leopards every year The leopard’s coat serves to break up its outline especially in dappled sunlight This camouflage is useful for hunting and allows the big cat to rest undetected in the branches of a tree during the day 11
