Cheetah by Luke Hunter

Author:Luke Hunter
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Esteemed for its speed and athleticism, admired for its grace and beauty, coveted for its hunting prowess, the cheetah has nonetheless been harrassed and hounded to the point of extinction. Author Luke Hunter, a specialist on African carnivores, looks into the history, evolution, behaviour and day-to-day survival of one of the most fascinating of the big cats. He discusses the ancestry of the cheetah, its hunting strategies, reproduction, social behaviour and status throughout African and Iran - the last remaining pocket of the species in Asia. Hunter also focuses on the tenuous future of the cheetah, its decreasing habitat and declining numbers, and deals with the immediate and long-term conservation issues facing the species. His authoritative text highlights the latest research on cheetahs, dispelling the myths and providing a comprehensive overview of the cheetah in the wild. Throughout the book, his first-hand field observations supplement data on the latest ecological discoveries from cheetah researchers across Africa. Powerful, full-colour photographs by Dave Hamman make this book a visual feast and reveal a world that is both intensely private and highly dramatic. Hamman's portrayal of the many modes and activities of this elusive animal presents a sumptuous gallery of photographs, while at the same time serving to broaden our knowledge - and help ensure the survival - of this remarkable and beautiful cat.
ISBN: 978-1-77584-108-1
Publisher: Penguin Random House South Africa
Published: 2013-08-23T16:00:00+00:00

Harassment like this from the males is customary though the reasons for it are far from clear. One theory suggests that it enhances the female’s receptivity by encouraging competition between the males but, in fact, virtually all the ‘hostility’ is directed towards the female and aggression between coalition members is very rare. When competition does occur, it is very mild and more likely to happen once mating has begun: two males were observed competing to mount a female by using their heads to push each other off her. Equally, the possibility that the process stimulates her to ovulate is doubtful; females are induced into ovulating but, in common with a number of cat species, it is the mating itself which brings about the release of eggs. The obvious conclusion is that the exchange occurs because the female is not interested – indeed, it is more severe when females are not in oestrus – but even successful matings are usually presaged by apparent reluctance from the female and bullying behaviour by the males.

When a female is ready to mate, chances are no one will see it. In stark contrast to other cat species (when habituated to tourists or researchers), cheetahs are astonishingly covert about mating. Mating is thought to happen largely under cover of night, and if there is dense vegetation nearby, the female will seek it out, drawing the males with her. Furthermore, it is all over very quickly. Typically feline, each mating lasts for less than a minute; distinct in cheetahs, however, it takes place very rarely. Mating bouts in captivity are usually separated by protracted periods of inactivity lasting many hours and, in fact, the few observations that exist of cheetahs mating in the wild report a single copulation. Perhaps this is all it takes for a female to conceive; oestrus in cheetahs lasts for a maximum of three days (compared to around five for lionesses) but it can be truncated to less than a day when mating occurs. Other than insemination, male cheetahs play no direct role in reproduction. Like most cats, the female cheetah does the rest on her own.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.