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The cheetah (*Acinonyx jubatus*) is morphologically characterized by its tawny pelage, adorned with uniformly distributed solid black spots, and distinctive black facial streaks extending from the eyes to the nose.
Answer: True
Explanation: The source material confirms that cheetahs possess tawny fur with solid black spots and distinctive black facial streaks, often referred to as 'tear marks'.
The typical shoulder height of an adult cheetah ranges from 26 to 37 inches, with a head-and-body length between 3.5 and 5 feet.
Answer: True
Explanation: The provided data indicates that cheetahs typically reach a shoulder height of 67 to 94 cm (26 to 37 inches) and have a head-and-body length of 1.1 to 1.5 meters (approximately 3.5 to 5 feet).
Adult cheetahs typically weigh between 46 and 143 lbs, with weight influenced by factors such as age, health, and subspecies.
Answer: True
Explanation: The source confirms that adult cheetahs generally weigh between 21 and 65 kg (46 to 143 lbs), with variations attributed to factors including age, health, sex, and subspecies.
Cheetahs achieve their remarkable speed primarily through powerful leg muscles and a heavy bone structure.
Answer: False
Explanation: This statement is inaccurate. While powerful leg muscles are involved, the cheetah's exceptional speed is primarily attributed to its lightweight, streamlined build, flexible spine, long tail for balance, and specialized cardiovascular and respiratory systems, not a heavy bone structure.
The scientific genus name *Acinonyx* refers to the cheetah's fully retractable claws.
Answer: False
Explanation: The genus name *Acinonyx* derives from Greek terms referring to the cheetah's non-retractable claws, a key morphological distinction from many other felids.
Cheetahs have a robust, heavily muscled build similar to that of lions.
Answer: False
Explanation: Cheetahs possess a slender, lightly built, and streamlined physique, contrasting sharply with the robust, heavily muscled build characteristic of larger felids such as lions.
The cheetah's 'tear marks' may help reduce sun glare during hunting.
Answer: True
Explanation: The black facial streaks, or 'tear marks,' are hypothesized to function in reducing the glare of the sun during daytime hunting activities, enhancing visual acuity.
Cheetahs possess fully retractable claws, similar to domestic cats, for protection.
Answer: False
Explanation: Cheetahs have semi-retractable claws that remain partially exposed and blunter due to lack of a protective sheath, unlike the fully retractable claws of most domestic cats. This feature aids traction during high-speed chases.
Cheetahs can accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in approximately 5 seconds.
Answer: False
Explanation: Cheetahs exhibit exceptional acceleration, capable of reaching 0 to 60 mph (approximately 97 km/h) in under 3 seconds, which is significantly faster than the stated 5 seconds.
The cheetah's long tail acts as a counterbalance, aiding in stability during high-speed chases.
Answer: True
Explanation: The cheetah's elongated tail functions as a crucial rudder-like appendage, providing counterbalance and stability, thereby enabling sharp turns and agile maneuvering during high-speed pursuits of prey.
Which physical characteristic is NOT a defining feature of a cheetah according to the source?
Answer: Thick, powerful jaw muscles
Explanation: The source material describes cheetahs with tawny fur, solid black spots, and black tear-like facial streaks, along with a short, rounded head. It contrasts their build with larger felids, implying less developed jaw muscles compared to those focused on brute strength.
What is the cheetah's typical head-and-body length range?
Answer: 1.1 to 1.5 meters (3 feet 7 inches to 4 feet 11 inches)
Explanation: The provided data specifies that the head-and-body length of a cheetah typically falls between 1.1 and 1.5 meters (approximately 3 feet 7 inches to 4 feet 11 inches).
Which adaptation is crucial for a cheetah's ability to sustain high speeds?
Answer: Large nasal passages and enlarged lungs
Explanation: The cheetah's physiological adaptations for high speed include large nasal passages and enlarged heart and lungs, which facilitate efficient oxygenation of blood during intense exertion.
The cheetah's body structure is best described as:
Answer: Streamlined and lightly built for speed
Explanation: The cheetah's physique is characterized by a streamlined, slender, and lightly built frame, optimized for achieving high velocities during chases, contrasting with the more robust build of other large felids.
What is a potential function of the cheetah's black 'tear marks'?
Answer: To help reduce glare from the sun during daytime hunts
Explanation: The black facial streaks, or 'tear marks,' are hypothesized to serve the function of mitigating solar glare during daytime hunting expeditions, thereby enhancing visual acuity.
How do cheetah claws differ from those of most other cat species?
Answer: They are semi-retractable and blunter due to lack of a sheath.
Explanation: Cheetah claws are semi-retractable, meaning they remain partially exposed and are blunter than those of fully retractable-clawed cats due to the absence of a protective sheath. This morphology aids in providing traction.
What is the cheetah's approximate acceleration time from 0 to 60 mph?
Answer: Under 3 seconds
Explanation: Cheetahs possess remarkable acceleration capabilities, achieving speeds from 0 to 60 mph (approximately 97 km/h) in less than 3 seconds.
What is the purpose of the long, bluish-grey hair mantle on cheetah cubs?
Answer: To mimic the appearance of a honey badger for predator deterrence
Explanation: The distinctive long, bluish-grey mantle of hair on cheetah cubs is hypothesized to serve as a form of mimicry, resembling a honey badger to deter potential predators.
The cheetah's semi-retractable claws primarily aid in:
Answer: Providing traction during high-speed chases
Explanation: The semi-retractable nature of cheetah claws, particularly the sharp dewclaw, functions analogously to cleats, providing enhanced traction and grip essential for stability during rapid acceleration and high-speed pursuits.
What is the likely function of the enlarged frontal sinuses in cheetahs?
Answer: Cooling inhaled air during high-speed chases
Explanation: The enlarged frontal sinuses in cheetahs are believed to play a role in thermoregulation by cooling inhaled and exhaled air, thereby mitigating the substantial heat generated during high-speed pursuits.
Cheetahs exclusively inhabit dense tropical rainforests.
Answer: False
Explanation: Cheetahs inhabit a variety of ecosystems, including savannas, arid mountain ranges, and desert terrain, rather than exclusively dense tropical rainforests.
Cheetahs hunt by ambushing prey from a distance and then overpowering it with a strong bite.
Answer: False
Explanation: Cheetahs stalk prey to within close range before initiating a high-speed chase, during which they trip the prey and then suffocate it with a bite to the throat, rather than ambushing from a distance or using a strong bite to overpower.
Cheetahs typically prey on large animals weighing over 100 kg.
Answer: False
Explanation: Cheetahs primarily prey on small to medium-sized animals, generally weighing under 40 kg (88 lbs), not large animals exceeding 100 kg.
Cheetah cubs are typically born after a gestation period of about six months.
Answer: False
Explanation: The gestation period for cheetahs is approximately three months, not six months, after which litters of typically three to four cubs are born.
Cheetahs prefer dense forests and thick undergrowth for hunting.
Answer: False
Explanation: Cheetahs typically favor open or semi-open habitats, such as savannas and grasslands, which facilitate their high-speed hunting strategy, rather than dense forests or thick undergrowth.
Male cheetahs typically live in lifelong coalitions, a social structure uncommon in solitary large cats.
Answer: True
Explanation: Male cheetahs frequently form lifelong coalitions for territorial defense and cooperative hunting, a social structure that is relatively uncommon among large felids, which are often solitary.
Female cheetahs generally maintain smaller, defended territories compared to males.
Answer: False
Explanation: Female cheetahs typically maintain larger, more nomadic home ranges to facilitate prey acquisition, whereas males, particularly those in coalitions, often establish smaller, defended territories.
Cheetahs are known for their silence and rarely vocalize.
Answer: False
Explanation: Cheetahs possess a diverse vocal repertoire, including chirps, churring sounds, and purrs, indicating they are not characterized by silence.
Scent marking, primarily through urine spraying, is a common behavior for male cheetahs to define territory.
Answer: True
Explanation: Male cheetahs frequently employ scent marking, notably through urine spraying on elevated landmarks, as a primary method for delineating and communicating territorial boundaries.
Cheetahs are primarily nocturnal hunters, active mainly during the night.
Answer: False
Explanation: Cheetahs are primarily diurnal hunters, exhibiting peak activity during the day, particularly at dawn and dusk, to avoid competition and predation from nocturnal carnivores.
How do cheetahs typically kill their prey after a chase?
Answer: By suffocating it with a bite to the throat
Explanation: Cheetahs typically kill their prey by initiating a chase, tripping the animal, and then applying a suffocating bite to the throat.
In shared habitats, how do cheetahs and leopards often avoid direct conflict?
Answer: By partitioning resources or habitats and activity times
Explanation: In sympatric environments, cheetahs and leopards commonly mitigate interspecific conflict through resource partitioning, utilizing different habitats, prey species, or temporal activity patterns.
Which of the following is a common prey species for cheetahs in Africa?
Answer: Thomson's gazelle
Explanation: Thomson's gazelle is frequently cited as a common prey species for cheetahs in African ecosystems, alongside other medium-sized ungulates.
What is the typical hunting strategy of a cheetah regarding time of day?
Answer: Both B and C, with peaks at dawn, dusk, and midday
Explanation: Cheetahs are primarily diurnal hunters, with activity peaks often observed during the crepuscular periods of dawn and dusk, and sometimes extending into midday.
What is unusual about the cheetah's vocalizations compared to other felids?
Answer: Their purring involves loud exhalation.
Explanation: While cheetahs do not roar like lions or tigers, their vocal repertoire includes sounds like chirps and purrs, with the latter sometimes involving a distinct, loud exhalation, differentiating it from the purring of some other felids.
How does the cheetah's hunting success rate compare to lions?
Answer: Higher than lions
Explanation: Cheetahs generally exhibit a higher hunting success rate (estimated at 25-40%) compared to lions (around 26%) for certain prey types, owing to their specialized pursuit strategy.
The four recognized subspecies of cheetah are exclusively found in Africa.
Answer: False
Explanation: The data indicates that the four recognized cheetah subspecies are native to Africa and central Iran, not exclusively Africa.
The Asiatic cheetah (*A. j. venaticus*) represents the sole surviving cheetah population on the Asian continent.
Answer: True
Explanation: The source confirms that the Asiatic cheetah (*A. j. venaticus*) is the only surviving cheetah population within Asia, currently confined to central Iran.
The Southeast African cheetah (*A. j. jubatus*) is one of the four subspecies recognized by the Cat Classification Task Force.
Answer: True
Explanation: The Southeast African cheetah (*A. j. jubatus*) is indeed listed as one of the four subspecies formally recognized by the Cat Classification Task Force.
The cheetah's closest living relatives are lions and tigers.
Answer: False
Explanation: Phylogenetic analysis indicates that the cheetah's closest living relatives within the Felidae family are the cougar (*Puma concolor*) and the jaguarundi (*Herpailurus yagouaroundi*), not lions or tigers.
Cheetahs possess high genetic variability, which aids their adaptation to diverse environments.
Answer: False
Explanation: Contrary to this statement, cheetahs exhibit unusually low genetic variability, a condition linked to population bottlenecks, which contributes to health issues and reduced adaptability.
The rare 'king cheetah' coat pattern is caused by a mutation in the Taqpep gene.
Answer: True
Explanation: The distinctive coat pattern of the 'king cheetah' is indeed attributed to a mutation in the Taqpep gene, which encodes for transmembrane aminopeptidase.
Besides Africa, which region is home to one of the four recognized cheetah subspecies?
Answer: Central Iran
Explanation: The data indicates that one of the four recognized cheetah subspecies, the Asiatic cheetah (*A. j. venaticus*), is native to central Iran, in addition to Africa.
The etymological origin of the genus name *Acinonyx* relates to which physical characteristic?
Answer: Its non-retractable claws
Explanation: The genus name *Acinonyx* is derived from Greek words meaning 'unmoved claw' or 'motionless nail,' referring to the cheetah's non-retractable claws.
Which of the following is identified as a closest living relative of the cheetah within the Felidae family?
Answer: Cougar (*Puma concolor*)
Explanation: Genetic studies indicate that the cougar (*Puma concolor*) and the jaguarundi (*Herpailurus yagouaroundi*) are the cheetah's closest living relatives within the Felidae family.
What is the primary consequence of the cheetah's low genetic variability?
Answer: Higher susceptibility to diseases and poor breeding success
Explanation: The low genetic variability observed in cheetahs results in increased susceptibility to diseases, compromised reproductive success (including sperm defects), and higher juvenile mortality rates.
What does the scientific genus name *Acinonyx* likely refer to?
Answer: The cheetah's non-retractable claws
Explanation: The scientific genus name *Acinonyx* is derived from Greek roots ('akinetos' and 'onyx') that signify 'unmoved claw,' referencing the cheetah's characteristic non-retractable claws.
The Asiatic cheetah subspecies is found exclusively in which country?
Answer: Iran
Explanation: The Asiatic cheetah subspecies (*A. j. venaticus*) is exclusively found in the region of central Iran.
What historical term was used for the cheetah, reflecting its trainability for hunting?
Answer: Hunting Leopard
Explanation: Historically, the cheetah was referred to as the 'hunting leopard' due to its capacity for domestication and training for the sport of coursing game.
Habitat loss and conflict with humans are minor threats to the cheetah's conservation status.
Answer: False
Explanation: Habitat loss, fragmentation, and conflict with humans are identified as major threats contributing significantly to the cheetah's vulnerable conservation status.
What is the primary reason cited for the cheetah's vulnerable conservation status?
Answer: Habitat loss and fragmentation, coupled with human conflict
Explanation: The primary threats contributing to the cheetah's vulnerable status are habitat loss and fragmentation, alongside ongoing conflict with human populations.
Which of the following is NOT listed as a primary threat to cheetah conservation?
Answer: Competition with hyenas
Explanation: While competition exists, the primary threats explicitly listed for cheetah conservation are habitat fragmentation, disease susceptibility (linked to low genetic variability), and conflict with humans.
What is the estimated global population of cheetahs as of 2016?
Answer: Around 7,100
Explanation: As of 2016, the estimated global population of mature cheetah individuals was approximately 7,100.
What is the main cause of mortality for cheetah cubs in the wild?
Answer: Predation by other carnivores
Explanation: Predation by other carnivores represents the principal cause of mortality among cheetah cubs, particularly during their vulnerable early weeks of life.
The word 'cheetah' originates from the Sanskrit word 'Chitra-ya', meaning 'spotted'.
Answer: True
Explanation: The etymology of the word 'cheetah' traces back to the Hindustani word 'chita', derived from the Sanskrit 'Chitra-ya', which signifies 'variegated' or 'spotted'.
Cheetahs were historically known as 'hunting leopards' because they were used in the sport of coursing.
Answer: True
Explanation: The historical designation 'hunting leopard' arose from the cheetah's historical use in the sport of coursing, where it could be tamed and trained to pursue game.
What historical event led to the need for importing cheetahs from Africa to India?
Answer: The decline of prey species due to cheetah hunting
Explanation: Historical records indicate that the extensive use of cheetahs for hunting by Mughal rulers, particularly Akbar the Great, led to a significant decline in prey populations, necessitating the import of cheetahs from Africa.