How long can cheetahs run once they start chasing after an animal?
With teardrop lines extending from each of their eyes to their mouths, cheetahs belong to the family of cats. What make cheetahs so different from their other family members are their flexible spines and non-retractable claws. In fact, these two special features are the secrets behind their high speed. When cheetahs run, they stretch out and close up their spines like a spring, and they get a firm grip on the ground like wearing spiked running shoes.
Female cheetahs do not have a particular mating season like most cats, and they can give birth to up to 8 cubs at one time. When cheetah cubs are born, they are blind and completely helpless! They must rely on their mothers to look after them. For the first 18 months,cheetah cubs stay close to their mothers and learn how to become great predators. After they perfect their hunting skills, they leave their mothers and start to defend and feed themselves. While female cheetah cubs lead an inderpendent life, their male siblings usually stick together and live in small groups.
Even though cheetahs are not endangered, they have witnessed their habitats getting smaller and smaller. Cheetahs once roamed freely on the open grasslands of India, the Middle East, and Africa but they lost their battles with humans and surrendered all or most of their territories in India and the Middle East. Today,we can only find wild cheetahs in eastern and southern Africa