Northwest African Cheetah: Skinny Ghost of the Desert. This subspecies lives in the Sahara and is very different from other cheetahs (8 photos)

Who in the world has a good life? Well, obviously not Northwestern. African cheetahs! Just look - fast predators have become ghosts of themselves, skin and bones! And the most annoying thing is that despite all efforts to survive in the Sahara, the population of wild cats is declining in geometric progression.





Today it is easier to find a needle in a haystack than a spotted one. a cat in the desert. Density of northwestern cheetahs throughout range is only 1-3 individuals per 5000 km², and the total the range of the species includes more than 1,000,000 km²! Who will risk?



For everyone who wants to try their luck in search of an African rider needs to go to the very heart of sand and hell - desert Sahara. Cats live in the western and central parts of it, as well as in the region called the Sahel - it is something between hell and the tropics, there is a little more life there compared to the desert.





The Northwest African cheetah is one of five subspecies of cheetahs. He differs from his relatives light color and slightly more modest size due to the exceptional lean physique. Difference in face - in subspecies there are practically no spots and stripes on the muzzle, and those that are very light. Well, if do not go into details, these noble predators after moving to the desert began to look like starved stray cats from a local dump. There will just be more.



However, in order to survive in the harsh conditions of the Sahara experiments with appearance will not be enough... What did they do mustachioed to survive?

First, they changed the mode of sleep and wakefulness. Usually all cheetahs hunt during the day, because at night the arena stronger guys come out - lions and leopards. big cats easily deal with fast, but not so strong cheetah. Northwestern subspecies had to change schedule and learn to hunt at night, because in the desert you have to compete not with other cats, but with the nature.

When a cheetah picks up speed, all of its muscles work. at the limit and generate a lot of heat. If in others regions, animals can still somehow cool down after such a run, then in the Sahara this is a problem - there is nowhere to hide, everywhere one continuous hell. That's why cats go hunting with sunset, and they go to rest only at dawn.



Second, the cheetahs had to forget their friends. On the fertile lands of the savannah, male cheetahs can form small groups for joint hunting and safety. But in the desert this will not work, because sometimes the prey not enough even for one animal. Yes and defend not from anyone, because the mustachios are the highest predators of these places.



The exception is females with cubs. Babies stay with cat mom up to almost two years. Cheetahs breed slowly, and their offspring are very vulnerable, so every kitten is important.

Thirdly, the animals began to walk a lot. The reason for this is the low population density of prey animals, most of which are also on the verge of extinction: lady gazelles, addaxes, hares and sand gazelles. Therefore homemade the range of one northwestern cat can occupy more than 1500 km², while a group of three male cheetahs in the savannah, it occupies an area 11 times smaller.



Fourth, cheetahs abide by dry law. Water in the desert is an expensive pleasure. The animals had to search another source of fluid is blood. So prey for a predator in the desert means much more than just food. organism cats rationally uses every drop of liquid.



But no matter how great the sacrifices northwestern cheetah, today the subspecies is on the verge of complete disappearance. According to scientists, only 9% of cats remained of its once vast range: as of 2008 the population was less than 250 individuals. Animal counting in the desert is incredibly difficult, since the density of the settlement of animals exceptionally huge. So how much is left in the wild today the nature of these cats - no one knows for sure.