^.^ Cheetahs ^.^

Cheetahs are the fastest critter on four legs over short distances. They are beautiful and breathtaking, any way you want to put it. They have a certain elusive lure to their ways, but they are disappearing very quickly. Right now there are only 12,000 cheetahs, and the number is dropping. Why save the cheetah? Well...read on...


	Cheetahs can reach speeds up to 70 mph. They can hit forty mph in three strides. This amazing speed is due to the cheetah's flexible spine, small head, lightweight build, and large lung capacity.
Cheetah cubs are specially adapted to their environment. They have to be. There is a 90% mortality rate among cheetahs, with only a few making it to adulthood. Their coat color is a light black and they have a light, silvery mantle that starts at the head and ends halfway down the cub's back. This is in mimicry of the honey badger, a fierce and terrifying creature.

	Off to the left is a picture of a striped king cheetah. These cheetahs have a mutant gene that splotches the coat pattern. They are rarely seen, and they are not a seperate cheetah species. Also, they are not sterile, according to popular belief. If this coat pattern proves to be more succesful, we will be seeing more of these cheetahs in a state of natural selection.

	The cheetah is losing its battle for survival. A turbulent bottleneck thousands of years ago left only seven individual cheetahs to start up a population. The gene pool weakened, making cheetahs susceptible to many diseases. Almost every cheetah is closely related in one way or other, and this of course causes genetic diseases such as rickets. The cheetah's genetic problem is not the only reason they are fighting for survival. Lions and hyenas steal their food and kill their cubs, and often the cheetah starves to death, or is killed. Farmers also kill the cheetah because they believe that the cheetah kills their livestock. This is true only in a number of cases. Poachers also contribute to the cheetah's declining state, though not as often as these other factors. Surely, the cheetah needs a little outside influence, from humans. How can you help? Spread the word!

Most of the pictures here were borrowed from this fine site...