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Welcome to our Screening Room!Learn about the fastest land mammal, the cheetah, the most petite of the big cats. from the staff at Safari West just north of San Francisco. Wildlife & Animal Documentaries Unleashed will fill you in on why this fast feline has a need for speed(Flash Video hosted by Google.com- this is a large file requiring broadband.) Find out more about WADU (Wildlife & Animal Documentaries Unleashed) CHEETAHSWorking with the cheetahs at Safari West in Santa Rosa was an enlightening experience. Cheetahs like other big cats (lions, tigers, leopards, etc.) are tractable at best, meaning they can be trained to a degree, but will never be tame- they are wild at heart and soul. I found this out first hand when one of the cheetahs, Gijima, decided to tear at the back of my neck in a form of rough "play"; fortunately for me, they are crespuscular (active at dawn and dusk- which help avoid the African heat), so since it is very chilly at dawn in the hills of Santa Rosa, I was wearing a lot of layers of clothing, otherwise my neck would have been torn to shreds. I am also fortunate, that they are petite with females weighing 60-110 lbs.. and males 80-140. They are about 6 ft. from head to tail, with 4 feet for their actual torso and head. They are also fairly skiddish, according to the keepers I interviewed, but they didnÕt seem very fearful to me. I learned a lot about this dainty and dignified feline from the keepers, both fact and fiction. They dispelled the myth that cheetahs roar, instead they hiss, chirp, and purr. Marie also shared a great African folk tale with me about how the cheetah found her place in the world. The cheetah certainly is a proud animal and rightfully so, the fastest land mammal, able to reach speeds of 70 mph in only 3 strides. Most people know about the cheetahÕs athletic ability, but not how they are able to pull of this amazing feat. They have large hearts and lungs so that they can take in and process great amounts of oxygen at once. Their hips are remarkably flexible and can rotate almost completely around like a sight hound (like my dog Reggie the afghan). Their tails whip around with the wind, enabling them to steer with it like a ship uses a rudder. Their tear marks help them keep their eyes on their prize by reducing the glare similar to the black marks that ball players put under their eyes. Their non retractable claws act like cleats, giving them the traction they need to start and stop on a dime. Unfortunately, it takes them time to recover from these tremendous but brief sprints and sometimes other animals like hyenas steal their kill. Starvation, poaching, a dwindling habitat encroached upon by man, and high infant mortality (only 5% of wild cubs survive in the wild), have lead to this amazing animal becoming endangered with less than 20,000 left in Africa and Iran. Their nervous and fussy nature also makes it difficult for them to breed in captivity. In fact, females will not go into heat with another female present. However, if the right male parades in front of them during the "cat walk", a turned-on female will purr up a storm. This information is the product of my interview with wildlife keepers, Marie Martinez and Sarah Rieback at Safari West Wildlife Preserve. Here are some other websites to check out to learn more about these diva cats and how you can help increase their survival rate:www.pawsweb.org www.cheetah.org www.priderock.org www.bigcatrescue.org www.wildnet.org www.nationalgeographic.com/kids/ Meet the Cheetahs in-person at Safari West Wildlife Preserve Back to Screening Directory |
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