Cheetahs: A Closer Look
male leaves to mate again, so cubs are born with no
fathers. even if the father stays near, he does not
provide any care for the cubs.
After about 22 weeks, the female gives birth to
three-five cubs. These cubs are born blind, and they
cannot see or hear very well. Their first food is
their mother’s milk. The mother then hides the
cubs ( lions and hyenas eat young cubs)to hunt
food for herself. As the cubs grow older, they grow
grey hair on their necks and backs. This makes
them look like honey badgers, which are tough
animals. Scientists think that this helps scare away
predators. As they grow older, the mother starts
bringing them meat, and the cubs stop drinking
milk.
Cheetah mothers are very protective of their cubs.
She usually hides the cubs carefully, because
predators such as lions and hyenas could come and
eat them. Plus, other cheetahs could come and
carry them away, because other cheetahs do not
care for other cubs. At first, the mother only hunts
for herself, but soon, the cubs stop drinking milk
and the mother has to hunt for them, too. Soon,
the mother brings back live animals to the cubs and
let them kill it. If food is too scarce, the mother
may abandon the cubs.
Cheetahs are well known for their speed. Yes, they
are the fastest land animal, but you can’t always tell
that a book is good by it’s cover. They have many
other features to help them survive in the African
wilderness.
Food and Habitats
After the cubs are born, they drink their mother’s
milk. As a result, the mother hunts only for herself.
By about about the time the cubs are 2 months old,
they start eating meat. Soon, they stop drinking
milk completely, and the mother has to hunt
constantly to feed both her cubs and herself. Also,
the father does not help, so it is even harder to
raise cubs.
A CHEETAH MOTHER WATCHES FOR PREY WITH HER CUBS.
together. However,most of the time, cheetahs do
not get their prey, so they get about 100ft away
before they sprint. After a kill, cheetahs hide their
food, after eating as much as it can, but animals such
as vultures usually find it. Because of this, cheetahs
need to hunt many times a week to stay healthy.
Cheetahs have lived in many parts of the world,
such as Ira q, Russia, and India, but now, they mostly
only live in Africa. Part if this is because farmers
shoot them because they worry that the cheetahs
will eat their animals. Cheetahs prefer grasslands
and savannahs compared to rainforests.
Cheetahs are well known for their speed. Yes, they
are the fastest land animal, but you can’t always tell
that a book is good by it’s cover. They have many
other features to help them survive in the African
wilderness.
Cheetahs like to hunt at day, because their whiskers
do not work as well as other big cat’s. These
whiskers feel around in the dark, so the cat doesn’t
bump into anything. Sometimes, cheetahs hunt
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A cheetah runs after something.