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Habitat and Behaviour The Cheetah’s preferred habitat is open
savannah and semi-desert country, but in desert areas it is often
found in association with hill and mountainous terrain. Unlike other
cats, which stalk and pounce on prey, the Cheetah relies on sight
and speed (hence the open nature of the habitats that it prefers). It
sprints in for the kill at up to 70 km per hour, but this speed can only
be maintained for a few hundred metres. Cheetahs favour medium-
sized mammal prey with a weight of up to 60 kg. The North African
population includes gazelles, sheep, goats and young camels in its diet.
In Iran Cheetahs hunt gazelles, wild sheep, wild goats and hares, but
because of the reduced prey base they also kill domestic sheep and
goats. Most hunting takes place during the day.
Cheetahs are normally solitary, but females may be encountered
with dependent cubs, and males may form a coalition. Cooperative
males are usually from the same litter. Females establish territories
from which they will drive out other females. Heavy human hunting