The continent where the cheetah lives. Cheetah - description, subspecies, habitat, nutrition, behavior and reproduction. Description of the appearance of a cheetah

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In the Middle Ages, eastern princes called cheetahs pardus, that is, hunting ones, and “went” with them to hunt game. In the 14th century, an Indian ruler named Akbar had 9 thousand predators trained in hunting. Today their number in the world does not exceed 4.5 thousand. Animal cheetah is a predator from a large cat family

. The beast stands out for its incredible speed, spotted color and claws, which, unlike most cats, it cannot “hide”.

Features and habitat Cheetah is a wild animal , which only partially resembles cats. The animal has a slender, muscular body resembling more dog

, and high-set eyes. A small head with rounded ears gives the cat away as a predator. It is this combination that allows the beast to instantly accelerate. As is known in the world there is no animal .

faster than a cheetah An adult animal reaches 140 centimeters in length and 90 in height. Wild cats weigh on average 50 kilograms. Scientists have found that predators have spatial and binocular vision

, this helps them in hunting.

A cheetah can reach speeds of up to 120 km/h As can be seen by photo of cheetah

, the predator has a sandy-yellow color. Only the belly, like many domestic cats, is white. At the same time, the body is covered with small black spots, and on the “face” there are thin black stripes.

Nature “inflicted” them for a reason. The stripes act like sunglasses for humans: they slightly reduce exposure to bright sun, and allow the predator to see at long distances.

Males boast a small mane. However, at birth, all kittens “wear” a silver mane on their backs, but by about 2.5 months, it disappears. Characteristically, cheetahs’ claws never retract.

Only Iriomotean and Sumatran cats can boast of this feature. The predator uses its peculiarity when running, for traction, as spikes.

Cheetah cubs are born with a small mane on their heads.

• Nowadays there are 5 subspecies of the predator:
• 4 species of African cheetah;

Asian subspecies Asians are distinguished by thicker skin, powerful necks and slightly shortened paws. In Kenya you can find the black cheetah. Previously they tried to attribute it to, but later found out that this is an intraspecific gene mutation.

Also, among the spotted predators you can find an albino and a royal cheetah. The so-called king is distinguished by long black stripes along the back and a short black mane.

Previously, predators could be observed in various Asian countries, but now they are almost completely exterminated there. The species has completely disappeared in countries such as Egypt, Afghanistan, Morocco, Western Sahara, Guinea, UAE and many others. Only in African countries today can spotted predators be found in sufficient numbers.

The photo shows a royal cheetah, it is distinguished by two dark lines along its back

Character and lifestyle of the cheetah

Cheetah is the fastest animal. This could not but affect his lifestyle. Unlike many predators, they hunt in the daytime. Animals live exclusively in open space. The predator avoids thickets.

Most likely this is due to the fact that the animal's speed is 100-120 km/h. Cheetah when running, he takes about 150 breaths in 60 seconds. So far, a kind of record has been set for the beast. A female named Sarah ran the 100-meter dash in 5.95 seconds.

Unlike most cats, cheetahs try not to climb trees. Blunt claws prevent them from clinging to the trunk. Animals can live alone or in small groups. They try not to conflict with each other.

They communicate using purrs and sounds reminiscent of chirping. Females mark territory, but its boundaries depend on the presence of offspring. At the same time, the animals are not known for their cleanliness, so the territory is quickly changed.

The black stripes near the eyes serve as “sunglasses” for the cheetah.

Tamed cheetahs resemble dogs in character. They are loyal, loyal and trainable. It is not for nothing that they were kept at court for many centuries and used as hunters. IN animal world cheetahs They take lightly to intrusion into their territories; the insolent person receives only a contemptuous look from the owner, without a fight or showdown.

Nutrition

This wild animal When hunting, he trusts his vision more than his sense of smell. The cheetah chases animals that are approximately its own size. Predator victims include:

• gazelles;
• calves;
• impalas;

Goitered gazelles become the main diet of Asiatic cheetahs. Because of their lifestyle, predators never sit in ambush. Most often, the victim even sees his danger, but due to the fact that cheetah is the fastest animal in the world, in half the cases, can’t do anything about it. The predator catches up with its prey in several jumps, with each jump lasting only half a second.

True, after this, the runner needs to take a breather for half an hour. At this moment more strong predators, namely leopards and , can deprive a cheetah of its lunch.

By the way, it never feeds on carrion, and only eats what it catches itself. Sometimes the animal hides its prey in the hope of returning for it later. But other predators usually manage to feast on other people’s works faster than him.

Reproduction and lifespan

Even with reproduction, things are a little different for cheetahs than for other cats. The female begins to ovulate only if the male runs after her for a long time. And in the literal sense of the word.

This is a long distance race. This is actually why cheetahs almost never breed in captivity. Zoos and nurseries are unable to recreate natural conditions.

In the photo there is a cheetah cub

The gestation period lasts about three months, after which 2-6 cubs are born. The kittens are helpless and blind, and so that the mother can find them, a thick silver mane grows on their back.

Up to three months, kittens feed on their mother's milk, then their parents introduce meat into their diet. By the way, the father is involved in raising the offspring, and takes care of the babies if something happens to the female.

Despite parental care, more than half of cheetahs do not reach the age of one year. Firstly, some of them become prey for other predators, and secondly, kittens die from genetic diseases.

Scientists believe that during ice age, almost became extinct, and the individuals living today are close relatives to each other.

Cheetah is a red book animal. For many centuries, predators were caught and trained to hunt. Since they could not reproduce in captivity, the animals slowly died out.

Today there are about 4.5 thousand individuals. Cheetahs live quite a long time. In nature - 12-20 years, and in zoos - even longer. This is due to quality medical care.

Cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) - carnivorous mammal cat family. Full classification: subphylum Vertebrata, class Mammals, or Beasts (Mammalia), subclass Real Beasts (Theria), order Carnivora, family Felidae, the only representative of the genus.

The body length from the head to the back of the thighs is 110 - 150 cm, the tail is 65 - 90 cm, the height at the withers is 79-100 cm, the average weight of the animal is 43 kg (male) and 38 kg (female). This animal is so unique that it stands out as a separate subfamily. By appearance and the body structure of the cheetah is more reminiscent of a long-legged dog than a cat. Literally translated, the word “cheetah” means “dog-cat,” which accurately conveys the state of affairs. The cheetah's body structure is similar to a wolf, only its skin is spotted and its muzzle is like a cat's. He doesn't even roar like a tiger, but only yelps like a dog. His body is somewhat shortened and more elevated above the ground compared to the body of cats.

The cheetah is the fastest-footed animal on Earth. When catching up with prey, it can reach speeds of up to 120 km/h over short distances (up to 500 m). The cheetah is well adapted to this method of hunting: it has a dry, lean body with a small head and long, slender, thin, but at the same time strong legs, the claws of which do not retract, like other cats, and a long, strong tail acts as a balancer when running. This beast is capable of jumping up to eight meters.

The African cheetah is born with a mane on its head, but it disappears over time. Black tear streaks stretch from his eyes to his upper jaw, and this gives rise to the apparent sadness of his muzzle. The cheetah's fur is short and sparse. A small mane is developed. The general color tone is yellowish, sandy. Small dark solid spots are densely scattered throughout the skin, except for the belly.

The cheetah goes hunting mainly during the day or at dusk, less often at night, having previously rested in a den, under a bush or in the grass. They live alone or in pairs, except when raising young animals. The cheetah has keen eyesight, and at a distance of up to 1500 m it can see a herd of ungulates that it hunts: gazelles, goitered gazelles and other small antelopes, sometimes argali; it also feeds on hares, small animals and birds. The cheetah never eats carrion. Having eaten his fill of the prey he has just killed, he leaves the carcass for the birds and jackals.

A cheetah's pregnancy lasts 84-95 days. There are 2-4 cubs in a litter. They are born blind and uniformly colored. The spotted pattern appears later. The timing of breeding is unknown, but in May and September in Turkmenistan, females with cubs (the size of a domestic cat or slightly larger) are found. In zoos, young cheetahs reach sexual maturity at three years of age.

Until recently, cheetahs were very widespread - almost throughout Africa, Western and Central Asia, in Southern Kazakhstan and Transcaucasia. Currently, cheetahs have survived mainly in Africa, only occasionally they are found in Iran and Afghanistan, and from the territory of Central Asia, apparently, they have completely disappeared. Cheetahs inhabit savannas, grassy plains, clayey and sandy deserts.

As a rare animal, the cheetah has no commercial significance and needs full protection throughout its range. The number of cheetahs in Africa reached 8-25 thousand individuals by 1971, according to various studies. In the Asian part of its range, the cheetah has disappeared completely or, perhaps, survived as a single species in Iran (in 1974 there were about 250 individuals) and, possibly, in Northern Afghanistan. The cheetah is listed on the IUCN Red List. A subspecies of cheetah - the Asiatic cheetah (jubatus venaticus) was included in the Red Book of the USSR, perhaps now does not exist at all.

There are five subspecies of cheetahs in Africa:

Acinonyx jubatus jubatus - in South Africa, 500 individuals;
Acinonyx jubatus raineyi - in Kenya, less than 3000 individuals;
Acinonyx jubatus ngorongorensis - in Tanzania and Zaire;
Acinonyx jubatus soemmeringii - from Nigeria to Somalia;

Acinonyx jubatus hecki - in Algeria.

And two subspecies of cheetah in Asia:

Acinonyx jubatus raddei - on Caspian lowland, extremely rare, perhaps already extinct;
Acinonyx jubatus venaticus - from India and the Middle East, less than 200.

Asiatic cheetah(Acinonyx jubatus venaticus) disappeared a long time ago in India, then in Afghanistan and Pakistan, ceased to be found in the Central Asian republics, and from time to time there were rumors of its isolated occurrences in Iran. Dr. Mahmoud Karami presented fresh evidence of the existence of this species in Iran. He and his staff encountered cheetahs and their tracks in the provinces of Markazi, Fars and Khorasan. Irrefutable proof modern existence The Asiatic cheetah may be a male cub that was sold at the bazaar and ended up in the Mashad Zoo. If there are only a few individuals of the Asiatic cheetah left in Iran, then, according to M. Karami, their future is bleak.

In ancient times, cheetahs were domesticated, trained and used for hunting in Iran and the Mongol Empire. Hunting cheetahs were also known in Kievan Rus. Russian princes were very fond of hunting with cheetahs. The ancient rulers of India and Assyria organized cheetah competitions. This was considered real royal fun.

There are still no known cases of cheetah attacks on humans. But man was always cruel to them. Excessive hunting of the leopard has brought it to the brink of complete extinction.

King cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus).

In 1981, a new cheetah mutation called royal was noted at the DeWildt Cheetah Center (South Africa). Cheetahs with this coloration are extremely rare in nature. That year, a king cheetah was born in captivity for the first time. In terms of body structure, it is no different from an ordinary cheetah, but its coloring contains particularly large markings, and all the spots are connected in a pattern. The first king cheetah was discovered in 1926 in Zimbabwe and was initially mistaken for a new species of cheetah. Only 50 years later, in 1974, the first photograph was taken ( National Park Kruger). At first it was believed that it was a hybrid of a cheetah and a leopard, but genetic tests disproved this theory.

Royal cheetahs can interbreed with ordinary cheetahs, resulting in full-fledged offspring. A royal-colored cub can be born from normal-colored parents. The diet of cheetahs is dominated by small prey - Grant's and Thompson's gazelles, impala antelopes, hares and birds. They eat only that part of the prey that they can eat at one time and do not return to the remains of the carcass because they are not able to defend it. Cheetahs are fast, but not strong. Unlike many cats, the cheetah does not eat carrion; it feeds only on fresh prey.

The cheetah is a beautiful animal from the cat family. He has a slender body, a small head with small ears and a rather a long tail. The weight of a cheetah can reach 65 kg, body length - 140 cm, and tail - up to 80 cm. The fur is light yellow in color with small dark spots; two dark stripes are clearly visible on the head, running from the eyes down, which give the face a sad expression.

Spreading

The cheetah lives on the African continent, as well as in some areas of Asia. Previously, it had a wider distribution, but due to destruction by humans, the number of cheetahs in nature has greatly decreased.

Nutrition

Like other members of the cat family, cheetahs are predators. They hunt medium and small sized animals. Most often, their victims are gazelles, hares, ostriches and some other animals. Cheetahs do not hunt from ambush, like other felines, but pursue their prey in open spaces, overtaking it with large leaps.

Lifestyle

Cheetahs go out in search of prey in the morning or at evening time, and in hot daytime hours they prefer to rest in the shade. Males live independently or unite in small groups. Having united, they hunt together and protect the territory from other males.

The female almost always hunts alone and raises the cubs herself. She usually gives birth to two to six babies. The cubs are born weak and blind. Baby cheetahs could be easy prey for predatory animals, but they manage to escape thanks to their unusual coloring. Their fur is colored almost the same as that of the honey badger, and the honey badger is a rather aggressive animal, and rarely anyone wants to mess with it. During the hunt, the female leaves her cubs in the thickets, and when returning, feeds them with milk. Babies remain close to their mother until about one and a half years old, and then begin an independent life.

In the wild, cheetahs live up to 20-25 years, and in captivity they can live much longer. This is due to the fact that in zoos cheetahs receive regular food and timely treatment.

• The cheetah is the fastest land mammal. It can reach speeds of up to 115 km/h.
• While running, the cheetah makes jumps of 6 to 8 m in length.
• The cheetah's claws do not retract completely and help it develop greater speed, just like spiked shoes for athletes.
• At high speed, a cheetah chases game for no more than 400 meters. If during this segment it is not possible to overtake the prey, then the cheetah stops pursuing.
• In ancient times, cheetahs were used in princely hunts. To do this, they caught young cheetahs and taught them the wisdom of hunting.
• Cheetahs quickly get used to humans, are well tamed and amenable to training.
• Cheetahs do not attack humans.

Cheetah brief information.

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The cheetah is the fastest-footed animal...

The cheetah lives on the plains of Africa, India, Western and Central Asia. On the territory of Kazakhstan in late XVIII - early XIX V. on east coast Caspian Sea and in the deserts adjacent to Aral Sea, the cheetah was seen regularly. In the middle of the 19th century. on the Mangyshlak Peninsula and the Ustyurt Plateau, this predator has become very rare. Over the past 25-30 years, there is no reliable information about sightings of this predator in Kazakhstan.

Cheetahs are so different from other cats that they are classified as a special subfamily. In appearance, a cheetah resembles a hound dog with long legs, a small cat-like muzzle and a long thin tail, which cheetahs use as a balance when running. Their slender, lean body with an arched back even seems fragile, but in fact they have developed muscles and practically no fat deposits. Cheetahs have fur similar to that of smooth-haired dogs. And the vague spots on the skin already resemble cat fur. The fangs are quite small, there are no powerful jaws. Cheetahs are the only felines that cannot retract their claws and they cannot climb trees. The feet are wide in relation to the size of the body. There are pads made of rough leather on the foot to soften the step. Their long, sharp claws help the cheetah stay steady while running. All these characteristics allow the cheetah to be the fastest alive dark on earth.

The color is yellowish-golden, the belly is white, there are black spots all over the body, and on the muzzle there are so-called black “tear stripes” running from the tips of the eyes to the mouth. This protective coloring makes the cheetah invisible against the background of vegetation.

In 1981, a new cheetah mutation called royal was noted at the DeWildt Cheetah Center (South Africa). Cheetahs with this coloration are extremely rare in nature. In terms of body structure, it is no different from an ordinary cheetah, but its coloring contains particularly large markings, and all the spots are connected in a pattern. The first king cheetah was discovered in 1926 in Zimbabwe and was initially mistaken for a new species of cheetah. Royal cheetahs can interbreed with ordinary cheetahs, resulting in full-fledged offspring. A royal-colored cub can be born from normal-colored parents.

Body length varies from 115 to 140 cm (average 130 cm), tail 65 - 90 cm (average 75 cm), height at the withers 79 cm.

Weight: The weight of an adult cheetah is 40-65 kg: the average weight of a male is 43 kg and 38 kg of a female.

Lifespan: Cheetahs live up to 17-20 years in captivity, and up to 8-10 in the wild.

Voice: The sound language of a predator is quite varied. In his voice you can hear almost all the sounds made domestic cat. The sounds made by a cheetah are similar to the abrupt chirping of a bird. They can be heard at a distance of two kilometers and allow the cheetah to communicate with its cubs and relatives. When a cheetah is happy, it begins to purr like a huge one. domestic cat. Pleasure is manifested by the sounds “wa-wa” and “nyam-nyam.” “Prr-pr” is a calm call, a very low “i-hi, i-hi” is an alarming one. When defending prey or when irritated, adult animals growl, purr, snort and click their teeth. His growl is more like a bark. Kids fighting for the best pieces meat brought by their parents, they emit long screams and sniffle terribly, pressing their ears. When they are scared, they whistle shrilly and sharply. In response to the mother's call, they chirp quietly.

Habitat: Due to their hunting method, they prefer open spaces: savannas, semi-deserts, etc.

Enemies: The main reasons for the catastrophic decline in the number of cheetahs in all areas of its range are the development of desert areas and plowing of lands, and in this connection the disappearance of ungulates, as well as direct persecution of the cheetah by poachers.

In Africa, the cheetah is the weakest large predators . Hyenas, leopards and lions can take prey from cheetahs and kill their cubs.

he hunts small ungulates - antelopes. Most of all he likes to hunt Thompson's gazelle, impala, and wildebeest calves. Its diet also includes hares and birds. There are cases where in arid areas a cheetah fed on juicy wild melons. In zoos, he eats 2.8-3.3 kg of meat per day. Here they are fed horse meat, sometimes beef, rabbits, and chicks.

Cheetahs are diurnal predators. It goes hunting during the day or at dusk, often lying in wait for prey at a watering hole. He the best way adapted to life on the plain. Keen vision allows him to see his prey. Unlike other cats, cheetahs hunt by stalking rather than by ambush. As a rule, the cheetah hunts alone. Seeing the herd, he goes around it on the leeward side and begins to crawl, pressing tightly to the ground and not taking his eyes off the antelopes. As soon as they start to worry, the cheetah freezes. It approaches its prey at a distance of up to 30 meters and makes a rapid dash.

Cheetahs push off when running at a gallop with their front and hind legs; this type of running allows them to reach speeds of up to 110 km/h and quickly change the direction of running. Incredibly, this beast can reach a speed of 65 km/h in just 2 seconds from a standstill! Usually the chase does not last long: the predator catches up with its prey before they run half a kilometer. On the most high speed a cheetah can race in 6-meter leaps. This is a sprinter: they can only withstand such speed for a short distance, after which their body overheats, and their muscles stretch from overexertion and lose elasticity. To ensure influx fresh air The powerful lungs are served by a wide and short nasal cavity. Cheetahs also have enlarged hearts, lungs, bronchi and tonsils to ensure maximum oxygen flow to the blood and muscles.

The prey is usually knocked down with a blow from the paw, and then strangled by clinging to its throat with a death grip. If in a short time the cheetah fails to overtake its prey, it refuses to continue the hunt, because due to the enormous energy consumption it is incapable of a long chase. To avoid mistakes, the predator chooses the weaker animal in the herd, and does it without fail. A race rarely lasts more than a minute. Approximately half of hunting attempts are successful, and the success rate for gazelle hunting was 70%.

When gnawing or tearing off pieces of meat, unlike, for example, lions and leopards, the cheetah never helps itself with its front paws. On the contrary, he pulls them under himself. A cheetah is not born a hunter, but becomes one, and only if its mother gives it an “intensive training course.” Cheetahs born in captivity do not know how to sneak up on prey and chase prey. The mother and cubs eat together very peacefully, without quarrels or fights.

Although cheetahs live on the same open plains as lions, where hyenas and wild dogs live, there is no rivalry between them, because. The cheetah hunts very fast animals, and therefore inaccessible to other predators. However, its prey cannot always be hidden, and scavengers are never against feasting on it.

Cheetahs are well adapted to living in arid areas. They do not need daily watering places. On average, they travel up to 82 km between watering holes. They have been observed to satisfy their need for moisture by drinking the blood or urine of their prey or by eating juicy melons.

In the mountains of Algeria, cheetahs constantly move from one valley to another, but at the same time they exhibit territorial behavior, marking trees (mostly tamarix) with their secretions and scratching them (mostly acacias). They rest under these trees or lie down on the lower horizontal branches. Here they hunt mainly at night.

Social structure: Cheetahs live in pairs or alone. After young cheetahs leave their mother, they stay together as a kin group for an average of about 6 months. Females separate from their siblings at around 2 years of age (usually 23 - 27 months of age). Males (siblings) usually remain together for a considerable time in a small group, up to 4 individuals. Such a group occupies an area of ​​up to 100-150 km2.

On average, the cheetah population consists of 21% males, 47% females, and 32% juveniles: of these, 44% of juveniles are 12 - 16 months old. It has been found that only 11% of puppies survive to 4 months; 4 - 5.6% of puppies up to 14 months. Mortality from birth to maturity ranges between 90 and 98%.

Reproduction: Cheetahs form pairs during the breeding season. Males do not take part in feeding the cubs, so soon after mating the mating pair breaks up.

Typically, a female cheetah gives birth to no more than six (average 3.3) tiny cubs. Cheetahs do not make a den, and the children's room is placed right in the middle of some dense bush or thicket of tall grass, or less often in an abandoned den of other animals. Around the 10th day, cheetah cubs' eyes open. At five or six weeks of age, puppies follow their mothers. The female fearlessly protects her children and hides them very well from enemies, constantly moving children from place to place during the first months of their life. This ensures that safety and sanitation regulations are followed. However, despite all the efforts of females to protect their babies from harm, only a third of the cubs survive to adulthood. If a mother loses her pups, she can enter estrus in an average of 3 weeks and bear new offspring. It is therefore estimated that a female cheetah could give birth up to a maximum of three times a year, producing a maximum of 18 pups.

Cheetah pups are weaned at around three months of age. They stay with their mother for 13 to 20 months. At the age of one and a half years, they mark adulthood and leave their parents.

Breeding season/period: The rut is extended, but most often occurs in December-January. Peak births of kittens occur during the rainy season.

Puberty: Cheetahs reach sexual maturity on average at the age of 2-3 years (females - 24-36 months; males - 30 - 36 months).

Pregnancy: Pregnancy lasts 84-95 days.

Offspring: Cubs - 2-5 are born blind, uniformly colored. The spotted pattern appears later. Newborn cubs have darker fur, and a thick and lush ashy “mantle” stretches along the back from neck to tail. After two months, it gradually turns into a mane, revealing the spotted back, and before that, like a camouflage robe, it reliably covers each baby from enemy eyes. Cheetah babies can retract their claws, like kittens, only up to 10 - 15 weeks, later the claws become almost motionless, and according to this, the metacarpus more closely resembles a dog's. Permanent teeth replace baby teeth by about nine months.

The cheetah does not attack people. As a rare animal, the cheetah has no commercial significance and needs full protection throughout its range. The cheetah has a gentle and peaceful disposition. The cheetah gets used to humans very quickly and can be tamed. In India and Iran, cheetahs were domesticated, trained and used to hunt antelope. Hunting cheetahs were also known in Kievan Rus. In many parts of the Middle East, cheetahs were every rich man's favorite game animal. It is known that the Mongol emperor Akbar had a “stable” of 1000 cheetahs for hunting

A very rare, endangered animal. The entire wild population of cheetahs is estimated at approximately 8-10 thousand individuals. The largest population of cheetahs is now found in East Africa: in Kenya and Tanzania and in southern Africa: in Namibia and Botswana.

The species is listed in the IUCN Red List. The cheetah is subject to universal and complete protection. Listed in Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Species wild fauna and endangered flora.

Cheetahs apparently nearly went extinct during the last ice age. Living cheetahs are closely related, so they show signs of genetic degeneration caused by inbreeding. For example, cheetahs have a very high infant mortality rate.

The only kind monotypic genus. Given the vastness of the cheetah's range, it naturally exhibits pronounced geographic variability. There is no consensus yet on the number of cheetah subspecies. Most zoologists agree on seven subspecies of cheetah: five in Africa and two in Asia, some of these seven recognize only two - Asian venaticus and African jubatus, which are translated from Latin as “hunting” and “having a mane.” In fact, this is not a mane, but a short mane, like a comb of slightly elongated hair.

Five African subspecies:

Acinonyx jubatus jubatus - in South Africa, 500 individuals;

Acinonyx jubatus raineyi - in Kenya, less than 3000 individuals;

Acinonyx jubatus ngorongorensis - in Tanzania and Zaire;

Acinonyx jubatus soemmeringii - from Nigeria to Somalia;

Acinonyx jubatus hecki – in Algeria

Two Asian subspecies;

Acinonyx jubatus raddei - in the Caspian lowland, extremely rare, possibly already extinct;

Acinonyx jubatus venaticus - from India and the Middle East, less than 200.

It is still almost impossible to get offspring from cheetahs in zoos. There were such examples, but they can be called a happy accident. In general, zoo workers unanimously come to the conclusion that keeping these animals in captivity is extremely labor-intensive.

Ecology

The Asiatic cheetah, one of the rarest animals on the planet, tries to attack livestock in areas where food supplies are low. wildlife are drying up, new research shows.

An international team of scientists working in Iran examined what these animals eat in areas where their numbers are declining due to poaching. Big cats have been found to prey on domestic animals as they cannot survive on small prey.

To save cheetahs it is necessary to protect them from poachers and conflicts with local farmers.

The Asiatic cheetah is an extremely rare subspecies of cheetah that is found in Asia. It was believed that these animals were able to survive by feeding on rabbits and hares in areas where medium-sized ungulates had already become extinct. However, research has shown that this is not the case.

Scientists spent 5 years studying cheetahs in two reserves in northeastern Iran, near the border with Turkmenistan. Previously wild ungulates, including gazelles, wild sheep and goats, have disappeared in these places. Having analyzed the excrement big cats

, scientists were able to understand what cheetahs eat in these places. Studies have shown that although rabbits and hares are part of the cheetah's diet, they do not provide them with the necessary dose of nutrients. Cheetahs prefer medium-sized herbivores and will attack livestock if necessary. The researchers reported that local herders may be completely unaware that their livestock is being attacked by Asiatic cheetahs, as these animals are very rare. However, in order to avoid future conflicts with, the researchers recommend introducing additional laws against poaching, as well as somehow improving the reserves so that rare cheetahs do not disappear from these places forever.

Asiatic cheetahs in Iran can be compared to pandas in China or tigers in India as symbols of wildlife conservation. Some experts claim that there were only 200 individuals living in Iran in the 1970s, and today there are no more than 70 Asiatic cheetahs left in the wild.