'Royalty - African cheetah'
Size 86x66cm Pastel on colourfix paper
The African cheetah is built for speed and not for fighting. Even though it is the fastest land mammal being able to reach speeds of up to 45 mph in 4 seconds and a top speed of 70mph....it is still vulnerable to attack by many predators from Lions and leopards to hyenas. The young are regularly killed and eaten by other predators. Even though their hunting success rate is relativly high the cheetah's inability to hold its prey against scavengers means they lose around half of their kills. With blunt claws which do not retract and a weak bite the cheetah must rely on its speed alone for survival. Even so....there are times when a cheetah must relax and conserve its energy for its next run.
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