The Felidae family of animals includes the stunning and ferocious cheetah. They can go between 80 to 128 km/h, making them the world’s fastest land animal. Cheetahs hunt by outrunning their prey with their incredible speed. Despite not being endurance athletes, they can run at fast speeds for a considerable amount of time.
These swift animals aren’t very large. They can weigh up to 65 kg and grow as tall as 94 cm at the shoulder. They are extremely lethal to all of their victims, including people, despite having a smaller frame.
What do Cheetahs Eat?
Water
Cheetahs do require water to stay alive. In comparison to the colder winters, they will require more water during the hot summers.
They can, however, go without drinking for a number of days. Only every three to four days does a cheetah require water. They favor consuming water from rivers or other bodies of water.
Small animals
Cheetahs consume all kinds of tiny animals. Because little creatures offer no harm to them, they frequently like them. Cheetahs eat several different kinds of small animals, including duiker, rabbits, hares, bat-eared foxes, cane rats, and mole rats.
Medium-sized animals
Medium-sized animals are the cheetah’s primary dietary source. They like to hunt for impalas, warthogs, dik-diks, reedbuck, waterbuck, bushbuck, gazelles, antelope, and dik-diks. These animals are simple prey for a lone cheetah, but bigger bands of cheetah prefer them.
The cheetah is a very destructive animal when it comes to domesticated animals like sheep and goats because of its fondness of medium-sized animals. When introduced to a herd of goats or sheep, a single cheetah can wreak havoc because it does have a tendency to kill multiple animals, even if it cannot devour the entire amount of meat by itself.
Larger animals
Larger animals including baboons, buffalo, wildebeest, nyala, onyx, and kudu will be attacked by cheetah bands. But because it might be hazardous to hunt larger animals, these foods are highly perilous. The young of larger animals, such young buffalo or young wildebeest, are typically preferred by cheetahs.
Birds
These incredibly swift animals are also capable of leaping very far. Birds like guinea fowl, ostriches, pigeons, and many others are simple prey for cheetahs to capture. They can sneak up on birds before grabbing them as they take flight because to their camouflaged coats.
Diet Variations
Cheetahs do not have any peculiar food preferences. They would prefer to go without eating than eat things that aren’t a part of their regular diet. Cheetahs kept in captivity can be trained to consume carrion meat, which is the only dietary diversity they have. Normally, they don’t go back to a kill or consume carrion, but under dire circumstances or if they can steal a kill from other predatory species, they might.
How to Feed Cheetahs
What do Cheetahs Eat in the Wild?
Cheetahs will eat any tiny or medium-sized animal they can locate in the wild. They stalk their target covertly before sprinting to seize it. They primarily eat gazelle, antelope, birds, and other small animals in the wild. When they move in packs, they will however attack bigger creatures.
What do Cheetahs Eat in Captivity?
Cheetahs in captivity can be trained to eat carrion meals. They mostly consume the muscle and bone meats of domestic animals like poultry, cattle, donkeys, and other animals. However, some pens do engage in wild animal hunting to provide food for their housed cheetahs.
What do Baby Cheetahs Eat?
Cubs are the name for young cheetahs. Cubs are born blind and completely reliant on their moms. Only after four weeks will they begin to open their eyelids. Cubs must consume their mother’s milk during the first three to six months of their lives.
Although these creatures are often weaned at 3 months, they do not begin to hunt on their own until they are at least 6 months old. After being weaned, they begin to learn how to hunt and eat the kill that their moms make. When the animals are about 6 months old, they typically start hunting juvenile deer and hares.
Cheetahs typically achieve adulthood at 15 months of age, at which point they are proficient hunters and capable of thriving on their own.
How much do Cheetahs Eat?
Cheetahs have a long fasting period. When they do succeed in making a kill, they will binge and consume up to 10 kg of meat at once. Cheetahs with more frequent access to food typically consume only 2.8 kg of food per day.
How often do Cheetahs Eat?
The cheetah uses their fasting periods to digest the food they gorged on after a previous kill, therefore food scarcity can occasionally be advantageous. They often go on a hunt for food every two to five days. But female cheetahs do go hunting every day to feed their young.
Do Cheetahs Eat Humans?
No, cheetahs do not consume humans, and if you do come across one in the wild, they will probably flee rather than attack. However, they have the potential to strike if they feel threatened or if you manage to come between a mother bear and her cubs. A cheetah can prove fatal in certain situations.
Do Cheetahs Eat Zebras?
Zebras are typically not a food source for cheetahs since they are too big for them to kill on their own. Even a big group of cheetahs may find it difficult to kill an adult zebra. However, newborn zebra calves are caught and eaten by cheetahs.
Do Cheetahs Eat Giraffes?
An adult giraffe cannot be killed by a cheetah, and even a baby giraffe poses a risk to the predator with just one kick, which can seriously harm or even kill it. However, if a group of cheetahs spots a pair of motherless giraffe calves nearby, they may charge in to make the kill.
Do Cheetahs Eat Hyenas?
Hyenas are exceptionally strong scavengers that are around the same weight as cheetahs, hence they are not eaten by cheetahs. One bite from a hyena’s powerful jaws can be enough to injure a cheetah and limit its capacity to hunt, so in a battle between the two animals, the cheetah is more likely to escape.
Do Cheetahs Eat Elephants?
Cheetahs do not pursue elephant prey. Even calves are far too large and dangerous. A cheetah could only eat an elephant if it were to come upon one that had just been slain.
FAQ
What are 5 interesting facts about cheetah?
The fastest terrestrial mammal on Earth is developed for super speed rather than endurance. When they move, cheetahs can accelerate more quickly than most sports vehicles. The Hindi word chita, which means “spotted one,” is where the name “cheetah” originates. Cheetahs have a unique social life among cats.
Are cheetahs friendly to humans?
Cheetahs are they friendly? In contrast to other wild cats, cheetahs pose no immediate threat to people and are actually quite tame. Cheetahs are still wild creatures, therefore you never want to try to touch one in the wild. This is critical for both your security and the cheetah’s welfare.
Why is cheetah so special?
The cheetah is the fastest terrestrial mammal in the world. They have a top speed of 70 mph, which is comparable to an interstate automobile. And it takes them only three seconds to get there!
What are 7 interesting facts about cheetahs?
The fastest terrestrial mammal on Earth is the cheetah, which has about 2000 spots.Cheetahs conceal themselves by using their spotted coat. Only male cheetahs are social; the word “cheetah” is derived from Hindi. – Cheetahs can have between two and eight cubs at once. No cheetah roars.
What are 5 characteristics of a cheetah?
The cheetah is a light-colored, spotted cat with a deep chest, long, thin legs, and a long tail. It also has a small, rounded head, a short snout, black facial stripes that resemble tears, and a deep chest.