Cheetahs and Maintaining the Image of the National Reserves and Parks - Essay Example

The Cheetah The Cheetah is one animal that adds beauty to the wild and given its many characteristic features, it hasreceived a lot of credit for attracting many people. Despite this, it has come to the attention of many game lovers that the animal is endangered. There are many different reasons as to why this has happened and one of the reasons is the loss of habitat. Wild reserves have been attacked by government policies that seek to turn several parts of the parks into contemporary villages with the cutting down of grass to develop houses. This has greatly affected the animal for it relies on the tall grass to lie during the day and hide in anticipation for a prey. Contemporary studies show that with a good hunting, the animal has the ability to survive many days, however, this has become difficult given the animal’s inability to find hiding spots. The animal likes to live in areas with large amounts of animals that it can hunt. Africa is the continent from where most of these animals originated from with a high number existing in Namibia. The most common areas where these animals are found is in semi-deserts where there is a wide range of view of the prey (MacMillan 113). The general properties of the animal are the ability to hunt down different kinds of animals and characteristically storing some meat for later use. This is as witnessed by other members of its order such as the lion and tigers. Various proposals have been made on how to save the animal and it is important to pay attention to them. One of the major steps that everyone can take part in is by shunning the habits of purchasing fur made from the Cheetah (Nowell 234). This step is important in an effort to stop poaching. Educating people in the corporate field on the importance of the Cheetah is one other major step that would assist in the preservation of their habitat because the people erecting these modern buildings would do so elsewhere other than destroying the animals’ home. The awareness plan is the cheapest because all that is required is the setting up of conferences where these business people would attend and get the education (Mitra 29). With regard to the zoo, this is upheld from the fact that the zookeepers do not cut the grass in the region where the cheetahs are in an effort to make them feel comfortable and safe. Having these officials tour the zoo and witness the comfort and beauty portrayed by the cheetah in its habitat would work further to humble these people and thus save the animal. The zoo has committed an open day in which the public is allowed to visit the animals, the cheetah included, free of charge in an effort to appreciate the animal. Moreover, the zookeepers have the responsibility of teaching every visitor the importance of the animal. Researchers in Britain have found that the manner through which the government of a particular country portrays the tourism sector is important towards maintaining the number of cheetahs constant (Mitra 101). This is because some countries may not pay the required attention to the tourism sector thus making people go oblivious of the importance of tourism. This makes them negligent and act irrationally without caring about the animals. These researchers have thus advocated for the governments of the various native countries of these animals to pay the required attention to the matter and have strict laws against destruction of these animals’ habitat. The cost of having these animals survive in their habitat is minimal. This is from the fact that the animals do not require any special type of meal but rather feed on what already exists in the parks. Costs would come in at the point where business people with the motive of erecting structures in the habitats have to move their resources to other uninhabited areas. This is from the fact that they may have spent a fortune investing in the specific area in the park. However, these people should take this sacrifice. Cheetahs are important in maintaining the image of the national reserves and parks. Native breeding countries for these animals are working hand in hand with scientists in an effort to find means of rescuing the cheetahs while still increasing their number by amplified attention being paid to the government. With the government’s assistance, the number of animals in these parks is bound to increase over the few coming years. DATA COLLECTION SHEET 1 FOR ENDANGERED SPECIES LAB Animal 1 Animal 2 common name Rhinoceros Cheetah genus species name Sumatran rhinoceros Acinonyx jubatus Phylum, class, order, & family Chordata, Mammalia, Perissodactyla & Rhinocerotoidea Chordata, Mammalia, Carnivora & Felidae Structure, size, & orientation of ears,eyes,mouth Large well built body, laid back ears, deep set eyes and flat lips. Deep chest and narrow waist. Medium body build, Tear marks around the eyes to keep out excessive sunlight. skin, fur, scales, &color; camouflage; protection Rough hazy skin, commonly brown in color with large pointed horns for protection. Short fur with black round spots all around the body. It has high set eyes for protection and hunting. Appendages – number, type, size, & structure 4 finger like erect and strong appendages, large in size to support the large weight It has 4 appendages. Tall in size and streamlined for enhanced speed. Any unique physical features Large protruding horns that it uses for protection and to attract females in the case of males The high set eyes enable it to view its prey and retractable claws to run fast and pounce. Warm or cold blooded and temp requirements Warm blooded mammal with the ability to survive in harsh climatic conditions Warm blooded mammal with moderate/average temperature requirements Types of movements The rhinos move depending on the number of family members that they have and also depending on the field where they are distributed The animals move in groups while hunting and often rest on high rocks in an effort to view their prey better when moving. Behaviors related to eating, hiding, interactions with other members Being vegetarians, these animals feed on grass and short twigs, they hide in areas with tall grass and rarely interact with other animals Cheetahs are carnivorous animals and prey on other animals. They hide behind large rocks and in tall grasslands. They rarely interact with animals of other species. Evidence of predator defenses The horns act as the evidence of predator defense. The streamlined body helps them to move fast. Reproduction behaviors and structures The adults live in solitude and only meet in times of mating. Females leave marked dung piles hoping for their male counterparts to follow in their scent when the mating season begins. Females live in solitude from the males and their children. Eighteen months after giving birth, the female leaves the cub to learn their own lessons. Evidence of food They look for areas with less competition and high amounts of food. They look for areas with tall grass to hide during their hunting endeavors. HABITAT DATA COLLECTION SHEET 2 FOR ENDANGERED SPECIES LAB Animal 1 Animal 2 Describe zoo habitat in detail in terms of space, landscape, water, light, etc. The rhino dwells in open grassland and forests. In the zoo it lives in a large area full of grass. Often laid back but goes around the area at night. It also has watersheds due to its high needs for water. The cheetah lives under a tree in the zoo to avoid direct contact with sunlight that affects it and a plain ground with little grass. Types of nests or shelter They do not have any specific shelter and sleep at any point they find to be free of danger. Cheetahs live in open areas and at times in mountain terrains. Natural location in world Africa Africa and Asia Work Cited MacMillan, Dianne. Cheetahs. New York: McGraw Hill Publishers, 2009. Print. Mitra, Sudipta. The Carnivorous Beasts. London: Oxford University Press, 2011. Print Nowell, Kristin. Wild Cats: Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan. New York: Cengage Learning, 2010. Print. Read More