CHEETAH OR HUNTING LEOPARD

                       STATUS

IUCN                    :     VU C2a(i) 

ZSI/CAMP            :     Extinct in India 

CITES                   :     Appendices - I 

Schedule             :     I (Part I) 

Population          :     Extinct 

Activity                :     Nocturnal 

Social Group       :     3 to 10

👉Local name  :   Cheetah, Cheetto, Shikari dipado

👉Physical measurements & cycle : 👇

Length        :  190 - 200 cm

Weight       :   25 - 60 kg

Height        :   70 - 75 cm

Maturity    :   20 - 23 months

Gestation   :   91 - 95 days

Litter size  :   2 - 4 

Life span   :   12 year

👉Description    :      The Cheetah has long, muscular legs and a flexible spine, small round head, light golden skin with black dots. (Not rosettes as in the panther) The colour of the coat varies from tawny to pale buff. Cheetah lacks claw sheaths and has two almost parallel lines on both side of nose, from eye to mouth.

 

👉Food  :   Carnivorous, preys upon gazelle, antelope, deer, hare, birds etc. 

👉Distribution  :  Once Cheetah was found all over the country, including Gujarat, Now cheetah is extirpated from India. Cheetah survived in Gujarat till second decade of last century. Last animal hunted in Gujarat was in 1942 around Gir. In the past it was decided to rehabilitate it at Dholavira in Kachchh. The proposal for its introduction is under consideration. 

👉Habitat  :  Open semi-arid grassland, savannah, scrub or isolated low hillocks amidst plains, but never in forested areas. 

👉Behaviour  :  Cheetah is the fastest animal on land. It can sprint at a speed up to and sometimes over 100 km an hour (60 mile hour) for a brief period at its chase. Cheetah can run up at top for only about 250 to 300 meters. Hunts with patience. 

👉Population   :   About 100 Cheetah in Asia (Iran/Iraq) and about 10,000 in Africa.

👉Cheetah or Hunting leopard does not roar like other three big cats (the lion, the tiger and the panther) of India. Rather, it produces sounds / calls of different types. The word 'Cheetah' has originated from a sanskrit word 'Chitrakaya'. Currently, the Cheetah occurs in Africa, Iran and Iraq.