We were lucky enough to have a good sighting of a female cheetah, an animal we don’t often see. These large cats are thin and long-legged with a very long tail and quite a small head. They weigh around 40-50 kilograms average and are a buffy-yellowish color, with round black spots all over the body. There are two distinct black tear marks down each side of the short muzzle. The cheetah is considered the fastest land animal, reaching speeds up to 90kph, with records of their exceeding 110kph. The cheetah is not as powerful as the other large cats, lacking the powerful head muscles of the leopard and lion, and is therefore unable to kill large adult prey with a spinal bite, depending for the most part on and a strangling bite to the throat. Cheetah are diurnal, and are most active in the early morning and late afternoon. Being much weaker than the larger cat species, cheetah try to avoid them by being active during the day as well as trying to avoid direct confrontation with them, as the larger cats will chase them off their kills and kill them where possible. Being rare and listed as a vulnerable species, it is very special to see this animal and hopefully she will be around more.
