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CHEETAH

The cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) is a member of the cat family (Felidae),

It is the fastest of all land animals and can reach speeds between 112 kilometres perhour (70 mph) and 120 kilometres per hour (75 mph) in short bursts up to 460 metres(500 yd), and has the ability to accelerate from 0 to 110 kilometres per hour (68 mph)in three seconds, more quickly than most supercars.

A poor climber that hunts by speed and stealth.

The word "Cheetah" is derived from the Hindi word "Chita" meaning "spotted one".

The young cub has a long gray-blue coat and a black underbelly that rapidly lightensand becomes spotted.

Early peoples trained cheetahs for hunting, and many civilizations depicted them intheir art and in written records.

Cheetahs were so popular that Akbar the Great of India was said to have kept a stableof about 1,000.

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

- The cheetah has a slender, long-legged body with blunt semi-retractable

claws.- Its chest is deep and its waist is narrow.

- The coarse, short fur of the cheetah is tan with round black spotsmeasuring from 2 centimetres (0.79 in) to 3 centimetres (1.2 in) across,affording it some camouflage while hunting.

- There are no spots on its white underside, The Cheetahs long thick tail hasspots which turn into rings and at the end is tipped with white. The throatand abdomen are a creamy white in color.

- The Cheetah has a small head with high set eyes and short rounded earstipped with white on the back

- Black "tear marks" run from the corner of its eyes down the sides of thenose to its mouth to keep sunlight out of its eyes and to aid in hunting andseeing long distances.

- Males tend to be slightly larger than females and have slightly biggerheads, but there is not a great variation in cheetah sizes and it isdifficult to tell males and females apart by appearance alone.

- The adult animal weighs from 40 kilograms (88 lb) to 65 kilograms (140 lb). Its total body length is from 115 centimetres (45 in) to 135 centimetres(53 in), while the tail can measure up to 84 centimetres (33 in) in length.

- Compared to a similarly-sized leopard, the cheetah is generally shorter-bodied, but is longer tailed and taller (it averages about 90 centimetres (35 in)tall) and so it appears more streamlined.

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Adaptations that enable the cheetah to run as fast as it does include:

Long, slim, muscular legs.Specialized muscles, which

act simultaneously for highacceleration, allowing greaterswing to the limbs.

Oversized liver and large,strong arteries.

Powerful enlarged heartand lungs that work together tocirculate oxygen efficiently. [Duringa typical chase its respiratory rateincreases from 60 to 150 breaths perminute While running].

Flexible spine, a deep chest,special pads on its feet for tractionand a long tail for balance.

Small, rounded head set ona long neck. Flat face, reduced

muzzle length allowing the largeeyes to be positioned for maximumbinocular vision.

Tail as a rudder-like meansof steering [to allow it to make sharpturns, necessary to outflank prey whooften make such turns to escape]

Its hip and shoulder girdlesswivel on a flexible spine that

curves up and down, as the limbsare alternately bunched up andthen extended when running,giving greater reach to the legs.

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