INTRODUCTION

The purpose of this posting is to show how these two animal species have evolved, adapted and competed in the same environment. Have you seen to previous post in this in the series? Glacer and Plate blog. Cheetah and lions are superficially similar but so different in their behavior and genetics. Their behaviors may have determine their ultimate fates. This is part 2 of a series on adaptation and survival in Southeast Africa. This portends the future of two species of cats. I used these beautiful animals as an analogue to all animals in all environments.

More vocabulary: Founder effect, Genetic drift. Evolution

THE CATS

CAT SPECIFICATIONS (Table 1.)

The lions and cheetah are planes creatures that feed on migrating animals. Their prey population feeds on grass. Without predictable rain there is no grass. Without water, grass and prey the predators must range widely for hunting or die. The wider their range the more isolated they become.

Here is how the Cheetah compares to the Big Five cats.

Cat	Native region	Ave. Weight	Ave. Speed mph	Ave life span yrs
Lion	Africa and India	420 lbs (male) 280 lbs (female)	50	15-16 (female) 8-10 (male)
Leopard	Africa, Asia, Russia, India	68 lbs (male) 51-60 lbs (female)	36	12-17
Cheetah	Africa, (Iran ?)	46-160	50 – 80	10~12
Jaguar	Americas	120-210	50	12-15
Puma (Cougar)	Americas	120-220 lbs (male) 64-140 lbs (female)	40-50	8-13
Tiger	India (Asia)	200-680 lbs (male) 140-370 lbs (female)	30-40	8-10

CHEETAH BEHAVIOR

It is not difficult to see the vulnerability of the cheetah. From Table 2, you can see that they are the smallest, shortest lived, and least distributed animals of the group.They are not one of the big cats. Additionally, they are solitary animals with the lowest cub survivability. Cub mortality is high. Up to 90% of cubs do not survive to three months due to predators like lions and hyenas. Do they really belong in Africa?

Cheetah females reach sexual maturity at 18 to 23 months and breed year-round.  Pregnancy lasts approximately 90 days. They birth 3 to 6 cubs in a hidden den.

Their obvious advantage is their speed. This advantage is only useful when there is sufficient space to reach that speed. They are planes creatures that have semi-retractable claws and less flexible ankles. They rarely find use for trees. They are also very quiet animals compared to lions. They lack the specialized larynx required to roar thus limiting their long distance communication.

LION BEHAVIOR

Lions are truly one of the Big Five cats.Their size, distribution and longevity are characteristics that are collectively superior to any of the others. Additionally, they have a very structured social community. They behave as a group when hunting thus improving the survival of the individual. They are polygamous during their estrus period. Gestation is 108 to 110 days producing 1 to 4 cubs. Cub mortality is high (often up to 60-76%). A new lead male cat will kill cubs in the pride from defeated pride leaders. They are planes creatures that are heavy and lack flexibility finding no good use for trees.

EFFECTS OF HUMAN BEHAVIOR

After development of farming and increasing population growth, especially during the last two hundred years has dramatically exploded. Humans have established farms on arable land. Water has been diverted to the farms. Fencing and other defense measures have been erected. Native undomesticated animals from the naturally undeveloped land have been blocked from ingress into areas reserved by humans. Animals living in the wilderness are hunted to suppress their population, to be taken as trophies, killed by wars and industrialization and by obstruction of their migrating and hunting corridors. These have divided and isolated them into small unconnected groups.

SPECIES TRAPS

Isolation dilutes the population and requires the smaller groups to develop as “founders” of a new group. The isolated group becomes inbred risking a genetic drift death trap.

CONCLUSION

The behavior of these two cat species is extraordinarily different. Behavior and size differences are the key to their success despite the identical competitive demands. Both use the same territory and face the same weather, habitat and human exposure. Which do you believe is the most successful? Why?

See the next installment in this series to understand the other “traps”.

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# lion, #cheetah, #behavior, #Africa, #traps, #farming, #habitat #founder effect, #isolation, #genetic drift, #evolution