Unique in almost every way, cheetahs are the least aggressive of the big cats , so tourists are allowed to get close to them in some places. This is not only highly questionable from an animal welfare point of view, it also carries risks .
In 2013, while on a trip to South Africa, actor Adam Sandler – Coneheads, The Waterboy, Cool Dad, Pushy Executive, Mr. Deeds – decided to visit a wildlife preserve and meet cheetahs first hand. While he was crouching next to a riverbed, Sandler was hit by one of them . The attack, which was recorded on video, had no consequences, but the actor did not want to repeat the experience.
In the wild, cheetahs rarely attack. They are solitary animals and tend to avoid their peers. Even in mating season, when males compete with each other and chase females, they rarely clash . Randall L. Eaton, one of the biologists who has studied his ethology the most, points out that observations of serious fighting between cheetahs can be counted on the fingers of one hand. Those who feel threatened duck, flatten their ears and growl with their mouths open, but they always try to avoid the fight . For an animal that depends on its speed to hunt – it is the fastest land mammal in the world – any injury, no matter how small, can be a death sentence. Despite their low aggressiveness, they are the fastest mammals on Earth. An advantage given precisely by its claws : they are semi-retractable, which helps them to accelerate . In contrast, the claws of the other cats are fully retractable. to better tear meat and climb trees better.
Their high speed is effective for hunting, and for this they need large open spaces and good visibility . The cheetah usually moves at a speed of 45 kilometers per hour and during the pursuit of its prey it can reach 110 kilometers per hour . Once the prey is reached, they quickly ingest up to 10 kilos of meat in one sitting. The reason is that other predators may steal their prey as they recover from the strenuous run , requiring between 5 and 50 minutes. Their favorite prey are antelopes.
Although the cheetah is not aggressive , it does maintain very radical protection strategies , especially females with cubs. Some are capable of staying for a whole day without feeding , to be constantly monitoring the environment. This behavior, in addition to helping them avoid attacks from other predators, allows them to spot possible prey. Lions, leopards, and hyenas are possible enemies; these animals would not hesitate to kill a cheetah cub if they felt the need.
Sadly, human interference also takes a toll on cheetah habits. Tourism interferes with their ability to hunt, and it is estimated that as a result cheetahs may lose 1 or 2 prey out of every 10 they stalk.
