Cheetahs in Kidepo Valley National Park : Cheetahs are Acinonyx jubatus species belonging to the cat family, which is why they look like big cats. Cheetahs are rare to spot while on a Uganda safari because they can only be seen in the beautiful Kidepo Valley National Park. They are very swift animals making them the fastest animal on land worldwide with a speed of about 110 km per hour and can easily accelerate from 0 to 96 km per hour in about 3 seconds. Compared to others animals, the Cheetah is the most unique and specialized member of the cat family for example its speed is remarkable, it has a leaner body as well as longer legs. Generally, they are not as aggressive as one would think; therefore, it would rather flee than engage in a fight probably because it has very weak jaws together with tiny teeth. The cheetah can hardly fight off the bigger predators by itself or young ones are attached which is probably why it is very fast when it comes to running
What you should know about Cheetahs
- The female Cheetahs always go get live prey for their little ones (cubs) to use for hunting practice.
- The cheetahs at one time were raced against the greyhounds.
- They do makes different facial expressions to signal the different mood with the help of those bold black lines on the sides of their noses.
- It has the ability to increase speed to the maximum in just about 3 second and also, just one stride covers about 33 inches which is really a long distance.
- Their cubs are born with long, grey fur.
- They also rarely drink water because they get most of the moisture that they need for their survival from their preys’ bodies.
They are also the only animals in the cat family that have the ability to turn in midair to follow the prey. Also, surprising they have no particular enemies.
Where in Uganda can we find Cheetahs
Because they love staying in open areas, they are commonly found in savannah areas, grasslands or in places with desert-like vegetation cover as well places covered with tall grasses. There are so many places with this kind of vegetation in Africa. In Uganda, Kidepo Valley national park in North Eastern part is the place.
During the earlier days, leopards were very many in India and almost everywhere in Africa, but today, they are found in probably 30% places on the whole of the Africa continent.
If you want to have a wonderful wildlife safari in Uganda that includes chances of see a cheetah(s), you must visit Kidepo valley national park.
How to differentiate a Cheetah from other related animals?
A cheetah looks more like a leopard but have a few distinguishing marks. The cheetah has that long dark teardrop like lines on both sides of its nose and they run from its eyes’ corners down to the mouth.
The cheetah has a tan color like skin or coat, with a lot of black spots but the belly is plain white and the spots on the tail form a ring like pattern from its body to where the tail ends.
The paws have just semi-retractable claws that help it to offer extra grip more so when it is in pursuit of prey or protecting its life.
How they live and reproduce
Female cheetahs live on their own while the male ones do form small groups of about two or three members probably to strengthen their force since they are very protective.
They don’t have a particular mating period therefore it can happen any time of the year and the female’s gestation period lasts between 90-95days after which it will give birth to between 2- 8 cubs. Most of them give birth to up to 6 cubs though but sadly about 50% of the newly born cubs are killed by their predators. Those that survive and grow reach the stage of sexual maturity at about two years of age.
They do survive both in the jungles and in captivity. They have life span of about 10-15 years while in the wilderness but if they are in captivity, they can live longer.
What Cheetah feed on
Cheetahs in Kidepo valley do hunt for other small animals during the day and they mainly hunt gazelles but also the bush bucks, the impalas and the antelopes as well as all the other grazing wildlife do make good meals. They take their time studying the prey by following them from some distance and if there are so many of them, a cheetah will select the old one, one that is injured or the young one because those are vulnerable and so their speed is impaired. Even though they are carnivores, they sometimes do feed on fruit like the watermelons if they find them
Threatened and Conservation measures
Cheetahs are among the endangered species in the world. Their survival is threatened by human activities farming or settlement when they encroach on the conservation areas therefore destroying their habitats. Also, illegal hunting is a problem, this because the humans need the leopard skin or to keep their domestic animals safe.
