Cheetah mother and cub Dec 4, 2021

Today we"re in Kenya"s Masai Mara National Reserve to celebrate Wildlife Conservation Day, which also happens to be International Cheetah Day—two reasons to extend our appreciation for this elegant mother and cub. These lithe and lightweight cats are built for speed, with compact heads, thin torsos, and long legs that help them accelerate up to 70 mph when hunting gazelles or antelopes on the savannah. Because cheetahs have uniquely flexible spines, they"re able to make sharp, sudden turns, even during a high-speed chase. Individual cheetahs tend to avoid one another, but a cub like this one will stay with its mother for about 18 months, and a female cub may stick with mom into adulthood. Some males are territorial and will form small groups, called coalitions, to defend a prized area.

© gudkovandrey/Adobe Stock

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Today in History

Dec 4, 2018A viewer with a view
Dec 4, 2019Protecting endangered giants
Dec 4, 2020Protecting wildlife today and tomorrow
Dec 4, 2022World Wildlife Conservation Day
Dec 4, 2023International Cheetah Day
Dec 4, 2024Wildlife Conservation Day

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