A cheetah is the fastest land animal on earth, belonging to a large field of the sub-family Felinae found only in Eastern and Southern regions of Africa including Uganda where it is explored on Uganda safaris and tours.
Cheetah is distinguished by its slender body, a deep chest, spotted coat and black tear-like streaks on the face, small rounded head, long thin legs and a spotted long tail. The cheetah weighs 21-72kg, and nearly reaching 70-90cm at the shoulder. Although the cheetah is taller than the leopard, it is notably smaller compared to the lion. The coat of a cheetah is uniformly covered by nearly 2,000 black spots.
Cheetahs including those explored on wildlife safari in Uganda are mainly active during day time and hunting is their major activity; being a carnivore, it preys upon gazelles and antelopes. Cheetahs stalk their prey within 100 to 300m chasing after them and finally killing them by biting the animal’s throat to suffocate it to death after stripping it during a chase. The cheetah’s speed averages to 60km/hr. during an intense run on a hunt.
The cheetah can thrive within various habitats stretching from dry forests, shrub forests to savannah grass lands. Less than 10,000 cheetahs are currently remaining in the wild, making it Africa’s most endangered big cat. Cheetahs are carnivores and their favorite food (prey) is usually the smaller antelope such as steenbok, springbok, duikers and Thomson’s gazelle.
The cheetah reaches its top speed in only three (3) seconds running as fast as a car drive on the highway, up to 70mph and therefore ranked the fastest land animal. The cheetah’s cubs have a mantle, the long tall hair running from their neck up to their tails base. Cheetahs have a black tear-like mark running from the inside corners of both eyes down to the outside edges of their mouth, helping them to reflect the sun’s glare during day time hunting; hence these tear marks work like a sight of a rifle helping the cheetah stay focused and get target of their prey during hunting.
Cheetahs can only be spotted in Kidepo valley National Park in the whole of Uganda making this park one of the most attractive parks and Uganda’s hidden treasures which has earned it a prestigious international accolade for being the most beautiful remote savannah park in Africa. The extensive game drive in this Uganda tour destination offers chances of spotting this maiden wildlife species.
In other parts of East Africa, the guests have chances of viewing the Cheetahs during Kenya wildlife safaris to Masai Mara National Reserve or Tanzania safari to the famous Serengeti National Park.
