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 A shy creature that roams widely, the cheetah is not seen as easily as some other cats. Never numerous, cheetahs have become extinct in many areas, principally due to shrinking habitat, loss of species to prey upon, disease and a girafves high rate of cub mortality. In some areas 50 to 75 percent of all cheetah cubs die before 3 months. Zebras, horses and wild asses are all equids, long-lived animals that move quickly for their large size and have teeth built for grinding and cropping grass. Zebras have horse like bodies, but their manes are made girafves of short, erect hair, their tails are tufted at the tip and their coats are striped. girafves Three species of zebra still occur in Africa, girafves two of which are found in East Africa. The most numerous and widespread species in the east is Burchell''s, also known as the common or plains zebra. Ancient cultures in Africa revered the giraffe, as some modern cultures do today, and commonly depicted it in prehistoric rock and cave paintings. Unknown outside girafves of Africa, this animal so excited man''s curiosity that it was sometimes sent as a diplomatic gift to other countries; one of the earliest records girafves tells of a giraffe going from "Melinda" (presumably Malindi) in Kenya to China in 1415. The animal was thought to be a cross between girafves a camel and a leopard, a mistake immortalized in the giraffe''s scientific name of Giraffa camelopardalis. The neck is so long the giraffe must spread its front legs apart so its head can reach the ground to drink. It has unusually elastic blood vessels with a series of valves that help offset the sudden buildup of blood (and to prevent fainting) when the head is raised, lowered or swung quickly. In some areas, livestock predation remains a severe problem. Cheetahs do not roar like lions, but they purr, hiss, whine and growl. They also make a variety of contact calls; the girafves most common is a birdlike chirping sound. Once a cheetah has made a kill, it eats quickly and keeps an eye out for scavengers lions; leopards, hyenas, vultures and jackals will occasionally take away their kills. Although cheetahs usually prey on the smaller antelopes such as Thomson''s girafves gazelles and impalas, they can catch wildebeests and zebras if hunting together. They also hunt hares and other small mammals and birds. Although known as an animal of the open plains that relies on speed to catch its prey, research has shown that the cheetah depends on cover to stalk prey. The cheetah gets as close to the prey as possible, then in a burst of speed tries to outrun its quarry. Once the cheetah closes in, it knocks girafves the prey to the ground with its paw. If you are looking for african animals then look no further. You can see live feeds of african animals on your computer.
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