Cheetah ( Acinonyx jubatus ) Swahili: duma

Cheetah ( Acinonyx jubatus ) Swahili: duma

The cheetah is one of the most impressive animals you can hope to see: sleek, streamlined and menacing. It is found in small numbers in all of Kenya’s major game reserves: Nairobi, Amboseli, Masai Mara, Tsavo, Samburu, Buffalo Springs, Marsabit and Meru. Similar in appearance to the leopard, the cheetah is longer and lighter in the body, has slightly bowed back and a much smaller and rounder face. It stands around 80 cm at the shoulder, measures around 210 cm in length, including the tail, and weights anything from 40 – 60 kg. When undisturbed, the cheetah hunts in the early morning or late evening, although these days with the number of tourist vehicles around, it is often found hunting at midday when the rubbernecks are back in the lodges stuffing their faces and the poor animal has a chance to stalk some dinner undisturbed. This forced change in habit is particularly stressful for the cheetah as it relies on bursts of tremendous speed for catching its prey, and this speed up to 110 km/h is only sustainable for a very short time. Obviously, as the midday heat is much greater than morning or afternoon, hunting for the cheetah becomes much more difficult. During a hunt, the cheetah stalks its prey as close as possible and then sprints for 100 metres or so, if, by that time it has not caught its victim, it will give up and try elsewhere. The prey, usually small antelope, is brought to the ground often with a flick of the paw to trip it up. Other food includes hare, jackal and warthog. Cheetah cubs reach maturity at around one year but stay with the mother much longer than that as they have to learn hunting and survival skills. Cubs are usually born in litters numbering from two to four, and the main breeding period is from March to December. The cheetah rarely fights predators, mainly of cubs, include lion, leopard and hyenas.