Scovone Star Magazine 2016-2017 | Page 13

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 – 13 – A cheetah runs after something.