maticthanthatof otherbig catsandis overwhelming and
thrillingvisually,he said.Thelongslenderlegs,the long
stridesandthetrimwaisttransformthecheetahinto
lightningwhenit launches itselfin an explosivesprintto
chaseandkill its prey.
GEORGESCHALLER
Dr GeorgeSchaller,the wildlifebiologistandan author-
ity on the ecology andbehaviourof wildcats,says:“The
huntof the cheetahis oneof the mostexcitingspectacles
in Africa; the slowstalk,the tenseperiodof waiting until
the preyis inattentiveandfinallythe explosiverushat 60
milesper hourmarksthe cheetahas the fastestof all land
animals.” In oneof his celebratedworks,A Naturalist
andotherBeasts, he saysthatthe cheetah“huntsmainly
in the openplains.... Anyfawnin a herdis immediately
pursued. Although cheetahs can attain tremendous
speeds,theyare unableto keepit up for morethan 900
feet.If theprey dodgesseveraltimes,thecheetah gets
exhausted.Thenit mayhave to giveup the chase.... The
cheetah is a pragmatist,likesbettera smallmealthan
noneat all.”
Femalecheetahsare usuallysolitary, butmalechee-
tahsmayformgroups.A spectaclethathascaptured
globalattentionin MasaiMaranowis a groupcompris-
ingfive cheetahs.
Theforest records saythatMalaikahashadeight
litters.Butshe wasableto raisesuccessfullyonlyfive cubs
outof 10. Thecubsusually separatefromthe motherat
theageof twoanda halfyears.Thecubsfollowthe
mother whenit hunts.In fact,the mothergrooms them
to hunt.Narayanan sayshe watcheda cubas it followed a
gazelle,whichthensprintedaway. Butthe mothercaught
it andtaughtthecubshowto throttleandkillit. On
anotheroccasion,a cubcaughta hare.But it wasreluct-
antto shareit withhis brother.Themotherinterfered
andtorethehareso thatit couldbe sharedamong the
brothers.
A wildlifephotographer seeksto get as manyfacial
expressionsof thecheetahas possible.Narayanan once
gota brilliantframeof a cublyingon thegrass,his
forelegs on his brother’sshouldersin a markof affection.
Thatshot gotselectedfor theBBCWildlifemagazine’s
2019 calendar.
Morethan23 Africancountries,includingSouth
Africa, Kenya, NamibiaandTanzania,havethriving
cheetahpopulations.TheAsiaticcheetahis critically
endangeredandis confinedto a fewisolatedpocketsin
Iran.Theirpopulationis about60, andeffortsare being
made for theirconservation.Divyabhansinh,a promin-
ent conservationistandformermember of the National
Board for Wildlife,did considerablestudies of the Indian
cheetahandcameto the conclusionthatthe majorcause
of its decline washuntingby royalty. Theextinction of the
cheetahin Indiaprompted theGovernment of Indiato
try to importit fromNamibiaandreintroduceit in India.
Butthedecision remains caughtin legalandadminis-
trativetangles. $
G. Shaheed is theChiefof LegalandEnvironment
News Bureau,Mathrubhumi, Kochi.THEVASTANDOPENPLAINSofthereserve.