The Prey
The victim of the cheetah's amazing speed is often the most common form of gazelle, Thomson's Gazelle (eudorcas thomsonii), a 35-55 pound herbivore that occupies the same open plains and grassland as it's main predator, the cheetah. With a max speed of 60mph, it stands no match to the cheetah's max speed of up to 120mph. When it has been chased down by a predator, Thomson's Gazelle will often use a method called stotting in which it uses it's powerful legs to leap and get away from the oncoming lion, spotted hyena, wild dog, cheetah, leopard, or jackal. The estimated amount of these beautiful creatures is 550,000 in terms of individuals.
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The Predator
The carnivorous cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) is the fastest mammal living on solid ground with the ability to reach speeds of 120 km/h. Cheetahs either live alone or in small groups which are either a mother and her young or a group of males. When the 1 to 5 cubs mature after 2 years, and then spend their remaining 13 years hunting, reproducing, and finding a home. Once the cheetah has found its prey using sight,often zebras or gazelles, it will stalk it from within 10-30 meters then sprint after it and attempt to knock it down. Unable to outrun the powerful cheetah, the prey will often lose its energy to run and will become victim of the cheetah's abilities. Once it has killed it's prey, the cheetah often takes it to a hiding place in order to avoid animals that sometimes take the prey before the cheetah can. Only about 7,000-10,000 cheetahs remain in the African Grasslands due to constant poaching.
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