Cheetah

Distribution:

Africa and Southwest Asia

Habitat:

Shrublands, grasslands, savannahs, deserts.

Diet:

Antelope, gazelle, rabbits, herd animals and the young of other large animals.

Gestation:

90 - 100 days, two - six cubs born

Longevity:

8 - 10 years in the wild, 12 - 15 years in captivity.

Predators:

Lions, hyenas, leopards and birds of prey

Conservation Status:

Vulnerable

General:

The fastest land animal, estimated to be capable of running at 50 - 80mph.

Cheetahs can make a variety of different sounds, from 'stuttering' to impress potential mates, to growling and hissing when threatened and even yelping to signal warnings of darnger.

These spotted felids are very vocal and have a broad repertoire of calls and sounds such as chirps (or a ""stutter-barks""), churrs (or churtlings), purring, bleating, coughing, growling, hissing, meowing and moaning (or yowling). Other vocalizations include gurgling noise, ""nyam nyam"" sound ""ihn ihn"" sound to gather cubs, and a ""prr prr"" to guide them on a journey. A low-pitched alarm call is used to warn the cubs to stand still.

Male cheetahs are generally not territorial towards each other and will form coalitions of 2 - 3 individuals, usually brothers. Female cheetahs are solitary animals, only coming in contact with others to mate or raise a litter.

Fun fact: Cheetahs can't roar! The bones of the cheetah’s voice box are structured the same as that of “small” cats, which means they actually meow!

At Hamilton Zoo:

You can find our four cheetah boys near the top of the savannah.

Males:
Radi - 6/6/18
Bomani - 6/6/18
Denzel - 6/6/18
Manni - 21/5/18

Radi, Bomani & Denzel are brothers.

Mammals