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Essay on The Cheetah: Built for Speed

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The Cheetah: Built for Speed What animal do you know can compete with a sports car in a race? Take a wild guess. Cheetahs! Cheetahs are the best because they’re the fastest land animal. Also, they are fascinating felions and have many special features like no other animal. The cheetah is primarily found in Africa (D’Silva). They are made for speed. “Built more like greyhounds than typical cats, cheetahs are adapted for brief but intense bursts of speed (Smithsonian). In Africa, everyone head to the lion’s cage expecting to see the lions because they are the king of Africa as the movie, “The Lion King” describes. However, because cheetahs are the fastest land animals, lions can not compete with it, and cheetahs have many features that any …show more content…

“The animals that the cheetah preys on for their meal are the smaller ones such as impalas. They can also hunt even bigger animals such as wildebeests. Cheetahs often lose their prey to lions and tiger and hyenas (JessZoo).” It’s more of a competition when it comes to their meal. Cheetahs have tear marks along both its eyes. These tear marks shield the cheetah's eyes from the sun and make it one of the most deadly hunters in the animal kingdom (D’Silva). Both male and female cheetahs reach adult body mass at 49–96 months of age (Dickman). A female prime adult cheetah at 48-96 months weighs an approximately thirty-one to fifty-two kilograms and one hundred fifteen to one hundred twenty-six centimeters in length (Dickman). A male prime adult cheetah at the same age weighs approximately thirty-seven to fifty-eight kilograms and one hundred eighteen to one hundred thirty-seven centimeters in length (Dickman). In order for cheetahs to eat, they approach their prey in a certain way to be successful; otherwise, they will not eat. Russell also notes that, the cheetah hunts with speed and knocks down its prey before killing it (Russell). When cheetahs hunt, they first identify their meal. Whenever there are hiding places available like tall grass, the cheetah use the cover to sneak up on its prey (JessZoo). They lower themselves so their victim does not see them. They creep very slowly and soon gain speed. If the prey looks up, the

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