Acinonyx jubatus by its scientific name or cheetah is also known as cheetah. It is a very different member from other felids, as it hunts using its sight and great speed, having the title of fastest animal in the world.
It is about an animal that emigrated to Africa from North America and is not originally from there, contrary to what many believe, an event that occurred approximately 100 years ago.000 years. The cheetah is a descendant of the American cougar. Some specimens migrated to Asia and Iran, this in the Ice Age thanks to the fact that they were looking for food sources. In this article on our site you will be able to read all about the cheetah's habitat, its distribution and conservation.
The savanna as cheetah habitat
Thanks to their lifestyle, specifically due to the cheetah's hunting method, they can be found in the savannahs, especially in the African savannah. Savannahs are ecosystems with few trees or small trees, which allows a continuous and high herbaceous layer. Savannahs are areas between semi-deserts and jungles.
The climate in the savannah is characterized by humidity in the summer months and a dry season in the winter months. During the rainy season the animals have a source of food, but in the dry season food is scarce, which causes many animals to migrate to deal with this problem. There are savannahs on almost every continent in the world, but only in Africa can you find cheetahs
The dense vegetation of the savannas allows cheetahs to hide from their prey and predators, the latter mainly when they have young. When they hunt they run in these large areas after their prey, until they reach and knock them down. Their main prey is gazelle, but they also hunt zebra and wildebeest.
Other Cheetah Habitats
Cheetahs can live in different types of habitats, such that they can be found in desert areas with extremely high temperatures, in prairies where the climate is humid, in dense forests and in mountains. They are able to live anywhere that provides them with animals to feed on.
Despite all this and because they are not very adaptable to environmental changes, they are in a strong struggle not to become extinctProof of this is that the populations of Algeria and Niger, for example, have decreased, thanks to the fact that a large amount of their habitat has been eliminated.
The cheetah and the conservation of its habitat
In India it is believed that the cheetah has disappeared since 1952, however there are now conservation efforts that would allow a repopulation of these felines in the country. Various studies indicate that the implantation of cheetahs in the area is not a threat to other species, instead it would help them in order to prevent them from dying of hunger, due to overpopulation of their own species.
In Africa cheetahs can be found in the Serengeti National Park, which is home to many of the cheetahs that live in wild state today, where large populations of lions, leopards, elephants, rhinos and buffalo can also be found. That is why many people travel to the place to meet different animals up close thanks to a guided safari. This park was declared a World Heritage Site in 1981 and is one of the oldest in Tanzania.
Discover also on our site the differences between the leopard and the cheetah.
