The word “cheetah” is derived from the Hindi word “chita” meaning “spotted one.”

Unlike other big cats that wait and pounce, cheetahs first stalk a herd and then launch a high-speed chase, usually catching up to the prey within a minute. Built for speed, go from 0 to 40 miles per hour in just three steps. In just a few seconds, they can reach their top speed of 70 miles per hour! However, they can only maintain this high speed for a short distance—about 400 to 600 yards. After such a fast sprint, cheetahs become very tired and may need as long as 20 minutes to rest and recover before they can chase again.

At the Columbus Zoo, we’re dedicated to the conservation of cheetahs, specifically through our participation in The Association of Zoos and Aquariums' (AZA) Saving Animals from Extinction (SAFE) program.


Scientific Name: Acinonyx jubatus

Conservation Status: Vulnerable

Size: Body length up to 5 ft., with an additional 2 to 2.5 ft. of tail. Cheetahs can be more than 30 in. tall at the shoulder.

Weight: 80 to 140 lbs., with males usually slightly larger than females

Median Life Expectancy: 12.1 years

Cheetah
Nutrition

Cheetahs mainly eat gazelles, but they also hunt smaller animals like hares, birds, and other hooved animals. Unlike many other predators in Africa, cheetahs rarely scavenge for food.

At the Zoo, cheetahs eat a specialized ground carnivore diet, raw chicken, and bones for fasting days and dental health. They have fasting days to imitate what happens in the wild when a cheetah might not catch food for a day. They also receive rabbits for enrichment. 


What and how much do they eat each day? 
The amount varies with age and weight and is closely monitored each day. On average, though, it is between 2.5 and 5 pounds of meat per day.

Turkey baby food is the key to encouraging our cheetahs to do just about anything. However, their absolute favorite treat is soup. Water is added to a portion of their carnivore diet until it becomes a gruel, while the remainder is used to make meatballs that go into the soup. The soup is not heated. They recognize the bowl and readily come in from the outdoors to receive this treat.  

Current Range and Historic Range

Historically, cheetahs were found all over Africa and southwestern Asia, including the Arabian Peninsula and central India. Today, cheetahs only occupy about 9% of their former range. Most of them are now in southern and eastern Africa, with a tiny population still existing in Iran.


Habitat

Cheetahs are found in many different habitats, like grasslands, savannahs, thickly vegetated areas, and even mountains. They do best in places that have wide open spaces and plenty of animals to eat.


Predators and Threats

Cheetah cubs face many dangers in the wild. Their predators include lions, leopards, hyenas, painted dogs, and even eagles. However, adult cheetahs are quicker and have few predators due to their incredible speed.

Research shows that cheetahs have very little genetic diversity. This low variation may be because of inbreeding in their history. As a result, many cheetah cubs do not survive, and some adults may have health problems. This genetic issue makes it harder for cheetahs to adapt to changes in their environment.

The cheetah population is also struggling due to the growing human population in Africa. As people expand into new areas, cheetah habitats are shrinking, and their prey is becoming harder to find. With fewer animals to hunt, cheetahs sometimes eat farmers' goats to survive. This action can lead to conflicts, with farmers sometimes shooting cheetahs to protect their livestock, even if the cheetahs are not threatening their herds.


Physical Description and Adaptations

Male cheetahs can live alone or in groups with their brothers, known as coalitions. These coalitions protect their territories fiercely while looking for females to mate with. On the other hand, female cheetahs are usually solitary and only come together with males when it is time to mate or when raising their cubs.

After about 95 days of being pregnant, a female cheetah can give birth to up to eight cubs, but typically, she has four to five cubs in a litter. When they are born, the cubs have closed eyes and rely completely on their mother. The mother raises them alone. The young cheetahs start exploring after about 12 to 13 days, and their eyes open a little earlier than that. As their first teeth come in, they begin to eat solid food and stop drinking their mother's milk between three and six months old. The first year and a half of a cub's life is very important because they learn how to hunt, avoid dangers, and survive on their own. After this time, the mother leaves her cubs, and the siblings stay together for another six months. When they are around two years old, the female siblings will leave the group, but the young male cheetahs can stay together for life.


Can the cheetahs see the animals on the savanna?
Yes. A cheetah’s vision is equivalent to a human’s with an average pair of binoculars. 

Reproduction

Male cheetahs can live alone or in groups with their brothers, known as coalitions. These coalitions protect their territories fiercely while looking for females to mate with. On the other hand, female cheetahs are usually solitary and only come together with males when it is time to mate or when raising their cubs.

After about 95 days of being pregnant, a female cheetah can give birth to up to eight cubs, but typically, she has four to five cubs in a litter. When they are born, the cubs have closed eyes and rely completely on their mother. The mother raises them alone. The young cheetahs start exploring after about 12 to 13 days, and their eyes open a little earlier than that. As their first teeth come in, they begin to eat solid food and stop drinking their mother's milk between three and six months old. The first year and a half of a cub's life is very important because they learn how to hunt, avoid dangers, and survive on their own. After this time, the mother leaves her cubs, and the siblings stay together for another six months. When they are around two years old, the female siblings will leave the group, but the young male cheetahs can stay together for life.


Behaviors

Unlike most cats, cheetahs are most active during the day. They like to hunt in the early morning and late afternoon. Instead of using their sense of smell, cheetahs depend a lot on their sharp eyesight. They often watch their surroundings from high places, like the top of a termite mound, to spot their prey.


The cheetah yard is so small, where do they run?
There are multiple cheetah yards at the Zoo. The cheetahs are rotated throughout the day. The yard outside “The Conservation Center” in HOA is designed to allow our guests to see the cheetahs up close. In order to reach maximum speed, the cheetahs need a straight, unobstructed run of at least 40 yards. This yard was designed with angles and obstacles specifically to prevent top speeds so the cheetahs do not get hurt.

Can the cheetahs climb out of the habitat? 
No. In the wild, cubs will climb a tree to play, and adults will walk up a felled tree to scan the area for prey and danger. However, while most cats are good climbers, adult cheetahs instinctively know that to climb is to risk injury to their long thin legs. While they will stand up against the fence, they will not climb it. 

Cheetah Claws and Puppy Paws

While the hope is that a cheetah cub will be raised by its mother, this is not always possible. If it is determined that a cheetah should be hand-raised by Animal Care staff, a puppy of a similar age may be selected to be raised alongside the cub. Cheetahs can be skittish and easily frightened, while Labradors are calm and confident dogs. When a Labrador puppy is introduced, the cheetah accepts it as part of its group. The puppy's confidence helps it take the lead, and the cheetah learns to follow the dog's example, which makes it feel calmer.

The cheetahs at the Columbus Zoo are special because they do not just stay in one habitat; they also participate in the cheetah run and act as ambassadors for their species. In this changing environment, the puppy provides the cheetahs with support and confidence to help them feel secure. As the cheetah grows and gains more confidence, it may not need the company of its Labrador companion as often. "Retired" cheetah dogs still play an important role at the Zoo and may be spotted enjoying the Watering Hole or cheetah habitat.

Kesi
Name
Kesi
Gender
Female
Year Born
2014
Weight
~55 lbs.
Identification Notes

Yellow magnet
Smallest cheetah, but fastest.

Additional Information
Born Omaha Zoo. Arrived at Columbus Zoo on October 21, 2014. Although the dogs were around Kesi and Kvamme as cubs, they were not raised together because the cubs were too old to be paired with the dogs when they arrived at the zoo.
Runner
Debbie, Bob, Frances
Name
Debbie
Gender
Female
Year Born
2018
Identification Notes

Blue magnet, with Frances and Bob. Smallest of the three siblings.

Additional Information
Born at Fossil Rim Wildlife Center (Texas). Arrived Columbus Zoo May 7, 2018.
Loves new training projects.
Runner
Debbie, Bob, Frances
Name
Frances
Gender
Female
Year Born
2018
Identification Notes

Blue magnet, with Debbie and Bob

Additional Information
Born at Fossil Rim Wildlife Center (Texas). Arrived Columbus Zoo May 7, 2018.
Not a runner as a safety measure for her well-being because she is far-sighted. Participates in the conditioning/training sessions in the Watering Hole.
Debbie, Bob, Frances
Name
Bob
Gender
Male
Year Born
2018
Weight
~130 lbs
Identification Notes

Blue magnet, with Debbie and Frances; Largest of the three and of all cheetahs at the zoo. Slowest runner.

Additional Information
Born at Fossil Rim Wildlife Center (Texas). Arrived Columbus Zoo May 7, 2018.
Currently not a runner, due to "medical hold".
Favorite enrichment item: tires
Bibi and Zemba
Name
Bibi
Gender
Female
Year Born
2013
Identification Notes

Red magnet (two colored-in triangles at the center of the magnet for those with red/green color-blindness).

Additional Information
Born White Oaks Conservation (Florida). The name “Bibi” is short for Kibibi which means “small woman” in Swahili.
Biological mom to Dave and Adrienne, who were born via in vitro fertilization.
She is a no longer a runner. But does participate in conditioning/training presentations in the Watering Hole.
Lucy
Name
Luciana (Lucy)
Gender
Female
Year Born
2016
Identification Notes

Green magnet (no colored in triangles for those with red/green color-blindness).

Additional Information
Born Tanganyika Wildlife Park. Named after a character in Shakespeare’s plays.
Runner, but is known to stop during the run to watch the giraffes
Adrienne
Name
Adrienne
Gender
Female
Year Born
2020
Identification Notes

No magnet, with Dave

Additional Information
Born at the Columbus Zoo through in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer into a surrogate mother. Biological mother is Bibi, father is Flash from Fossil Rim.
The births are the result of a partnership between the Columbus Zoo, the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI) and Fossil Rim Wildlife Center. The cubs are named after Dr. Adrienne Crosier and Dr. David Wildt, whose work resulted in this scientific breakthrough. Adrienne is a cheetah biologist for the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute’s Center for Species Survival. The late Dr. Wildt retired as the Director of the Smithsonian’s Conservation Biology Institute’s Center for Species Survival in December 2018. A renowned leader in conservation biology, his prolific breakthroughs in reproductive biology and population genetics benefited endangered wildlife.
Runner
Dave
Name
Dave
Gender
Male
Year Born
2020
Identification Notes

No magnet, with Adrienne. Dave is taller with a more round, fluffy head. Both have white tips to their tails, but Dave’s white tip is just a little bit bigger. Dave also has some short fur on the back of his neck because of Adrienne grooming him.
Loves to hang out on the land rover vehicle.

Additional Information
Born at the Columbus Zoo through in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer into a surrogate mother. Biological mother is Bibi, father is Flash from Fossil Rim.
The births are the result of a partnership between the Columbus Zoo, the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI) and Fossil Rim Wildlife Center. The cubs are named after Dr. Adrienne Crosier and Dr. David Wildt, whose work resulted in this scientific breakthrough. Adrienne is a cheetah biologist for the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute’s Center for Species Survival. The late Dr. Wildt retired as the Director of the Smithsonian’s Conservation Biology Institute’s Center for Species Survival in December 2018. A renowned leader in conservation biology, his prolific breakthroughs in reproductive biology and population genetics benefited endangered wildlife.
Runner
A young Misi and Cash
Name
Misi
Gender
Female
Year Born
2014
Identification Notes

Lives at the Wild Encounters Animal Outreach building.

Additional Information
Born Fossil Rim Wildlife Center (Texas). Her name is short for DaMisi which means “cheerful” in Swahili. Arrived Columbus Zoo April 23, 2014. Raised with Cash, a Labrador retriever.