Friday, June 28, 2013

What is a cheetahs adaptation to its habitat

There are many adaptations that a cheetah possesses.
The most obvious of these are it's striking black spots on the pale background of yellow-gold: the spots on a cheetah help break up it's shape, and therefore help it camouflage when it hunts its prey and hides from other predators. The gold is able to blend into the surrounding grass.
Secondly, the cheetah's spine is very flexible so that while it runs it is able to turn quickly, and lengthen it's stride. In addition, Cheetahs cannot retract their claws. The claws are less of killing tools, and more like an athlete's cleats that help them gain traction while running in the Savannah. The cheetah's legs are long, and muscular so that the animals have greater length between their steps.
Also, the cheetah has a long tail for balance.
Unlike most big cats, the cheetah has smaller, blunter canines. The long, sharp teeth were sacrificed for larger nasal cavities so that the feline can intake more air as it runs.
Cheetahs cannot roar, and rather communicate to the others with a combination of body language and chirps.
Also, Cheetahs do not eat from something they haven't killed, and if approached by another animal, will most of the time give up their kill in favor of getting into a fight.

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