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| By Molly |
| An endangered animal is an animal whose species is about to die out. This can happen from their habitat being destroyed by humans, humans cutting down trees around the habitat, and also by humans hunting or poaching them for baby parts or hides. To the cheetah, their threats are habitat loss and poaching. |
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| The cheetah lives in Africa, but not the rain forests, and was once found in Southern Asia. The cheetah is 30-36 inches long, and weighs from 86-143 pounds! |
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| The cheetah`s diet is gazelles, impala, wildebeest calves, hares, ostrich, and their favorite is gazelles and antelope. Cheetahs usually only attack once. Then if the kill was successful, they move on, but if the kill was unsuccessful, the cheetah gives up, then attacks again in about a week. |
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| Cheetahs are the fastest mammal and are known to run up to speeds of 70 mph and can run up to 60 mph in 3 seconds! Cheetahs are the only mammal that can overtake an antelope or gazelle. The only problem is that cheetahs are sprinters, not runners and can not run for more than 300yds and if so, get winded and have to stop immediately. Also as a result to that cheetah can take a dozen strides per second! |
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| Cheetahs have sleek slender bodies and their ears are pressed low to their head so when they run, the air flows over their body better. What also helps them run up to 70 mph is their flexible backbone and their long tail that helps keep them balanced better. It is to be known that if horse had such flexible backbones, they could run up to 100 mph. Also, the only way you could tell a cheetah and leopard apart is by the cheetah`s "tear lines" that are bold black lines that run from the inner corner of the eye, down to the outer corners of the mouth. |
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| In the late 1960`s more than 5,000 cheetah hides were brought to America for trade and to made into coats, shoes, handbags and other clothing items. Fortunately, that trade has stopped, and is now banned. |
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