Over the last few weeks we have been blessed with a few incredible Cheetah sightings across the reserve and a frequent question that has been pondered and discussed on our vehicle is,

“How do Cheetah differ from leopards and other big cats?“

In a previous blog, Adam Bannister explains just how a cheetahs physical build is designed for speed, and how cheetahs find themselves at the bottom of the predator hierarchy when it comes to inter-predator conflict (between lion, spotted hyena, leopard and African wild dog).

We spent an afternoon with a Mother Cheetah and her cub who were resting in some shade in the early afternoon. The young male, rather antsy and full of energy (relative to his mother) spent most of his time grooming, yawning, and milling about in the shade.

Physical adaptations aside, for this blog I have chosen to expand on their uniqueness and highlight two further cheetah adaptations that I find rather interesting.

“Adaptation, in biology, is the process by which a species becomes fitted to its environment; it is the result of natural selection acting upon heritable variation over several generations. Organisms are adapted to their environments in a great variety of ways; in their structure, physiology, genetics, in their locomotion or dispersal, in their means of defence and attack, in their reproduction and development, and in other aspects.” – John L. Gittleman

The Young Male grooms himself while enjoying some rest under the shade of a tree

Cheetahs do not roar, they purr

Although cheetah are part of the Felidae family, they are markedly different in both behaviour and anatomy from other big cats, and fall under a different subfamily (Felinae) and genus (Acinonyx) compared to leopards and lions.

In fact, cheetah are more closely related to smaller cats that purr than they are related to lions and leopards.

Without focusing too much on the biology, when a cat vibrates its larynx, or voice box, it causes the hyoid bones to resonate (somewhat like the Adam’s Apple in humans). In big cats, there is a lengthy tough cartilage that runs up the hyoid bones to the skull, which give the larynx enough flexibility to produce a full-throated, terrifying roar (we see this with lions and leopards).

Cheetah and other small cats, in comparison, have a voice box that is fixed in structure with divided vocal cords that vibrate with both inward and outward breaths. This enables cheetah to purr continuously, but it limits the range of other sounds and therefore prevents them from being able to roar.  As a result, cheetah are one of the ‘bigger’ cats that do not roar.

So why don’t cheetah roar?

Roaring is a key component of big cats’ social behaviour and territoriality. It serves many functions from scaring off intruders, warn the pride of potential danger, or advertise presence and power. Cheetahs are at the bottom of the predator hierarchy and we know that they are not fighters by nature – they will rather use their speed for flight, choosing not to engage in conflict and avoid it where possible. As a result, there is less need for a pronounced form of communication such as a roar and so their communication has evolved somewhat differently to the other big cats.   

They see in colour

Another interesting and noticeable difference when comparing cheetah and other big cats is to consider is a cheetahs eyesight.

This young Male Cheetah is captured patiently waiting as we watched his mother show interest in a herd of impala as the afternoon light began to fade.

Since most big cats in the African savanna are nocturnal, to avoid competing with other predators, cheetahs have adapted by mostly hunting during the day. As a result, cheetah cannot see as well as leopard and lion at night, but they have adapted to have spectacular day time vision.

To briefly unpack some of the fundamentals of vision, within the eye’s retina, there are two types of cells; rods and cones, that are receptors responsible for one’s sense of sight. These receptors are the part of the eye responsible for converting the light that enters your eye into electrical signals that can then be interpreted by the brain.

 

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Rods are responsible for picking up the amount of light and essentially important for vision at low light levels (“scotopic vision”). They do not mediate colour vision, and have a low spatial perceptivity.

Cones are active at higher light levels (“photopic vision”), and are capable of colour vision and are responsible for high spatial perceptivity.

Due to their diurnal nature, cheetahs are known to have more cones in their eyes (specifically a higher density of photoreceptors called S- and M- cones) compared to most other cat species. This allows cheetahs to discriminate between more colours.

My personal favourite, the eyes of this young Male Cheetah sparkle as he peers over the top of the mound. The shinning eyes not only reflect the sunlight but the prospect of yet another meal.

Not only can they distinguish between differences in colour, but cheetah also have spectacular binocular vision, and can see detail across the open grassland to a distance of 5 km (3 miles), while humans with binoculars would have difficulty seeing the same detail!

A cheetahs field of vision is also far greater than that of humans, similar to other big cats.  Due to the position of their eyes, cheetahs have a much broader panoramic view/peripheral vision in comparison to humans. This allows them to better scan the horizon and maintain visual of their prey whilst chasing at high speeds!

The athleticism of a cheetah is astounding. Here, a couple of Cheetah Cubs race each other past their mother.

I could go on and on unpacking a number of other adaptations that make cheetahs unique, just like we could do for leopards or lions each in their own right. Every species we get to witness in this magical wilderness has evolved over millions of years with generations of natural selection and there’s a reason why certain genes have prevailed.

Gaining the high ground. This Cheetah struck an absolutely stunning pose as he climbed this fallen Marula tree to scan the open grassland ahead.

So next time you find yourself on safari or asking why certain animals differ from one another, remember that their species has adapted and evolved for a particular reason and hopefully we can deduce what that reason could be!