Cheetah+Morgan+T.

= Cheetah =

Where does it live- The Cheetah lives in most of the grasslands, savannahs, and open prairies of East Africa and part of the Middle East.

What type of food they eat and what hunts them- The Cheetah is a carnivore and eats mostly Gazelle, Springbok, Impala, and Antelope. Cheetahs also eat the young of some animals such as the Warthog, Kudu, Hartebeest, Oryx, Roan and Sable. Cheetahs are hunted sometimes by lions and hyenas if they are too weak.

How they reproduce and how they are raised- Their mating season is throughout the year and the gestation is around 3 months. A full litter usually is just 2-4 cubs. The mother usually brings them food and cares for them until they are about 5-6 weeks old and then takes them out to hunt with her. When they are capable to care for themselves, the mother no longer cares for them.

Facts- The Cheetah is known as the fastest land animal in the world, going from 0 to 60 miles per hour in just 3 seconds. Cheetahs live up to 12 years old in the wild and can live up to 15-17 years old in captivity. Cheetahs are unusually clean with their eating habits.

Threats- The biggest threat to the Cheetah is loss of habitat due to people settling on all of the land where Cheetahs live. They also deal with declines or loss of prey and conflicts with humans. High cub mortality rates are also causing a threat to the Cheetah because of competition with lions and hyenas due to the loss of prey and dominance between the species. Poachers and farmers are also a big threat to the Cheetah because their hides are worth top money to poachers and farmers are shooting them because they think that if they let them on their land, the Cheetah will kill all of his livestock.

What is being done to help- Conservationists have been running a conservation education program for livestock farmers, villagers, and children to help prevent farmers from shooting them and to insure the future for the fastest cat in the world. We've established a long-term conservation strategy for the Cheetahs throughout their range. We've also helped farmers develop better livestock management practices and promoting the use of guard dogs to protect livestock as alternatives to resorting to the rifle. We've been passing anti-poaching laws as well for the Cheetahs to try and stop some of them from the poachers. We've also tried getting habitat restoration so that the Cheetah will have more places to live and multiply.

IUCN Status- The Cheetahs status is vulnerable and they are only 3 steps away from extinct from not only in the wild, but totally gone .

What the IUCN status means- The IUCN status is the conservation status of the species, per the IUCN as of the date of the latest list publication. Since the Cheetah is vulnerable, we need to act quickly and help them get back to a stronger and bigger population.

The Cheetah Conservation Fund- This group of people are working to create and manage long-term conservation strategies for the cheetah throughout their range. Develop and implement better livestock management practices, eliminating the need for ranchers to kill so many cheetah. Conduct conservation education programs for local villagers, ranchers and school children. Continue intensive scientific research in cheetah genetics, biology and species survival. They are willing and dedicated to saving this animal and hoping to bring it back to its original and bigger population. Cheetah Conservation Fund website

What I can do to help- My family and I could help raise money by getting together with friends and make cookies or some kind of food or drink and sell them. We could make sugar cookies that are yellow with chocolate chips dotted all over them to represent the Cheetahs coat. We could also help by raising money for the conservation fund by creating paintings of Cheetahs that can be sold and the money will be donated to the conservation fund. These paintings could include ones by a 5 year old or even a 90 year old. Any painting will help to save the Cheetahs.

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