Big African Cats of Namibia. Cheetahs and Leopards from “Afro-cat”
Namibia is a big country of South-African region, square is more than 825000 sq.km. On this territory there are more 7000 farm lands, protected by wire fences of the penetration of wild animals, especially predatory cats - lion, cheetah and leopard.
From all cats cheetahs are in the more disadvantage. Cheetahs are vanishing animals, there are not many of them in Africa and it’s more difficult to see them in habitat. The largest population of these graceful creatures are preserved in such parks as the Masai Mara (Kenya), Serengeti (Tanzania), Ngorongoro (Tanzania) and Etoshs’s Park (Namibia). In Namibia there are more 25% of all world population of cheetahs.
But once cheetah lived throughout Africa!
It is well known about cheetahs that:
- they are the fastest animals in the Earth (thay can speed up to 110 km. per hour over short distances)
- lone animals(males and females lead separate single way of life)
- young males can combine to small groups to 4 individuals for the short period of time
- females give a birth to from one to five cubs (the whole year round), usual 1-2 cubs survive
- live in the open savannah-type spaces, avoiding the dense bush and wooded parts
- hunting for: ostriches, bustards, guinea-fowl, Impala antelopes, springboks and other small antelopes. Sometimes they can hunt for porcupines (!)
- Cheetah is vulnerable: any predator, including lions, leopards and hyenas, may deprive them caught prey, and when the case did not miss the chance to kill the cheetah.
Therefore, cheetah should not just quickly catch and strangle the victim, but as soon as possible to eat it … and do not resist when someone tries to take away his prey. Because in the case of scuffle, the cheetah has no chance to win, and risk of fatal injury is very high.
- cheetahs hunt only during the day, the success of their hunt for the 90% depends on how close they can pick up for prey before rush
- cheetahs (unlike the other big cats) are easily domesticated. In the old days the Arab sheiks and the Egyptian Pharaohs used them in the hunt and as the home exotic animals.
