Spot Check - Critically endangered Northwest African cheetah photographed
25th February 2009
An extremely rare species of cheetah has been kicking up a sand storm in the Sahara. Caught on camera for almost the first time the desperately endangered desert cheetah is known to dwell in six countries including Algeria, Togo and Bukina Faso yet virtually nothing is known of them. Any cat lover generally has a particular soft spot for this fleet footed predator and will be excited by this discovery. Numbers are critical all over Africa yet the open grasslands of the Serengeti and the Masai Mara are outstanding habitats for this sinewy feline. A few weeks ago a mother gave birth to seven cubs in the Masai Mara and one Exodus group at Christmas saw 13 cheetahs in one day. They suffer from a narrow bloodline (not the Exodus group), an abundance of predators especially hyenas and lions and they are fastidious over what they eat, yet they are blessed with one extraordinary faculty, speed. To see one primed, it's body coiled then explode into a searing sprint is one of the seminal sights in Africa and one of the finest moments of nature.
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