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Cheetah

The cheetah is the fastest land animal reaching reported speeds of 100km per hour. Some believe that in most instances the top speed is only about 80km or 50mph. In any case, they are very fast for short distances. Unlike other cats, their claws do not retract. They are terrestrial and use sloping trees or mounds as observation posts. They have even been known to jump on a car for this purpose.. The cheetah is a solitary and diurnal (active in the day time) animal. When seen in groups, it is generally brothers or a pair mating. Of the top 5 predators in Africa, the cheetah is at the bottom. They must give way for Lions, Hyeana, Wild Dogs and Leopards. This is why they tend to consume their prey rapidly. If not they may well loose it to one of the other predators. As they are not the worlds best climbers they do not have the ability to take large game up a tree. (See Leopards) The majority of photos in this section were taken in Etosha and Kruger. Some of the more recent were takne in the Kalahari AKA Kgalagadi.
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cheetahsouth africakruger park

  • Note how they quickly disappear in the grass.
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  • Looking left down towrds our vehicle.
  • Yawning as it walks. Note the small size of the teeth.
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  • The cat is now on the road about 20 to 30 feet in front of the vehicle
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  • In this shot I believe we are the subject of attention.
  • Note how well it blends into the dry grass.
  • Once again always vigilant.
  • In this photo you can see some of the teeth. They are no where near the size of his cousins. Limiting the size of prey to mostly the smaller antelope and the young of the larger breeds, as well as birds up to young ostrich.
  • Almost lost in the grass.
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  • These two cheetahs, proably brothers were taken near Lower Sabi. The entire time we were there they never got up. The sky was overcast. Note one is allert and the second is taking a snooze.
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