So without their ability to reach the speeds they do, they would quickly die from hunger. This may put it into perspective for you - we could give Usain Bolt an almost 50m head start in a 100m race and he’d still come second!Ĭheetah are highly specialised but also quite timid. Usain Bolt at his peak managed a stunning 44.72 kilometres/hour at a race in Berlin on 16 August 2009. They will often use these short bursts of speed when stalking their prey to make a kill.Cheetahs are simply awesome and perfectly-conditioned to survive in the African bush.Īn animal that can move at incredible speeds is surely something quite spectacular (110 kilometres/hour or 68 miles/hour - imagine that!?).Īdmittedly, cheetahs are not able to continuously run at this speed and can only do so for a few seconds, but that does not take anything away from the achievement. Cheetah are the fastest mammals on land being able to reach speeds of 120km/h over short distances.However, mortality rates are lower in more closed habitats (Caro in press). On the open, short-grass plains of the Serengeti, juvenile mortality can be as high as 95%, largely due to predation by lions (Laurenson 1994). Another threat to the cheetah is interspecific competition with other large predators, especially lions.Cheetahs are also vulnerable to being caught in snares set for other species (Ray et al.Going forward there will be an initiative where we will be partnering with various other conservation focused entities focusing on understanding, and ultimately preventing any illegal trade from South Africa. We work closely with the local authorities to ensure safe space is being made available for our wild cheetah population, and that relocations and monitoring is up to an acceptable standard. Illegal Trade: This is most certainly a threat cheetah are facing and is something that needs more focused energy and attention.Cheetah are often killed or persecuted because they are a perceived threat to livestock, despite the fact that they cause relatively little damage. Conflict with farmers and ranchers is the major threat to cheetahs in southern Africa (Purchase et al.A large proportion of the estimated population lives outside protected areas, in lands ranched primarily for livestock but also for wild game, and where lions and hyenas have been extirpated. This regional estimate breaks down as follows: Angola – present but unknown Botswana – 1,800 Malawi – <25 (and probably extirpated: Purchase and Purchase 2007) Mozambique: <50 Namibia – 2,000 South Africa – 550 Zambia – 100 Zimbabwe – 400. Southern Africa is the cheetah’s regional stronghold, with a “roughly” estimated population of at least 4,500 adults (Purchase et al. Vulnerable, with some sub-species critically endangered.CLICK BELOW TO VOLUNTEER WITH CHEETAH OR DONATE TO CHEETAH CONSERVATION TO EFFECTIVELY MONITOR AND PROTECT OUR CHEETAH, WE ARE FITTING CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS WITH TRACKING COLLARS. Finding & monitoring cheetah outside of protected areas in KwaZulu-Natal and assisting with their capture if needed.ĬHEETAH ARE VULNERABLE TO PREDATION AND POACHERS’ SNARES.Transporting, caring for and releasing cheetahs into new protected areas.
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