Chris in CA
06-11-2008, 01:27 PM
This her first Exposition paper from Jump In! and she is getting a bit touchy on the grading, could you give me some feedback, it is a first draft and very long. She loves to write, but I want to help her become better without squishing it KWIM?
Most think of a cheetah as a lean short-coated liquid golden cat with spots. Major A. L. Cooper was in agreement before his consequently intriguing visit to Zimbabwe in 1926. There he sighted the first king Cheetah. Cream colored and splotched from left to right, the king cheetah was considered a myth until true evidence turned up 55 years later. During that time only 11 reliable sightings of king cheetahs and 13 king cheetah skins were known to exist. In addition kings had only been sighted in Zimbabwe, Botswana, and the Transvaal region of South Africa. Therefore, it was a grand surprise when a tiny fuzzy striped and splotched cub was born to a common cheetah at the Cheetah Research and Breeding Center in De Wilt, South Africa. That same spring in 1981, another pregnant common cheetah, sent from De Wilt to the zoo in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, also gave birth to a king cub only two days later. The recipient of the pregnant cheetah returned the little king to De Wilt, which accordingly has the largest population of king cheetahs in captivity. In conclusion, king cheetahs are not a new cheetah species, but rather a color variation from the common cheetah. However, this story goes to show that whether king or common, a cheetah is a cheetah no matter the pattern of its coat. Now, hang in there while we sprint alongside the cheetah and investigate the wonders God has put into one small, very interesting cat!
A cheetah’s diet relies heavily on what food is available. If food is plentiful a cheetah may feast heartily on antelope, gazelle, or impala. But if food is scarce ostriches, hares, lizards, frogs, and occasionally Tsama melons (which are favorites on the blistering savannah, for they hold tons of thirst-quenching water), may be added to a cheetah’s ever increasing menu. Another aspect of a cheetah’s diet is its surroundings, for example in a bountiful area, on a plentiful day, a cheetah will hunt and successfully kill large prey every day, but if the cheetah’s territory is sparse (as far as prey is concerned) a cheetah will hunt and successfully kill large prey every two and a half days. Now to be explicitly honest, explaining a cheetah’s diet is scarcely achievable, but explaining how a cheetah hunts is unattainable. Although, to attempt this feat would be courageous, thus, to begin at the beginning, I, the author, will endeavor to explain the unexplainable: How a cheetah hunts. I’ll begin with stalking; a skill essential for making a kill, this ability is used by all cats, from Bengal tigers to tabby mousers, cheetahs included. Cheetahs stalk prey until within sprinting distance (which is about 550 ft), then, from a complete standstill, they rip across the plains accelerating to 70 m.p.h .in 3 seconds. Amazing? Wait, there’s more; this whole chase lasts for about 20 seconds. Whoa! (And I ask you, how can there not be a Creator behind that?) But, a cheetah’s miraculous speed doesn’t always put food on the table, more often than not it will take many more times than once to make a successful kill. When chasing adult prey cheetahs only catch their quarry about half the time, when chasing juvenile prey cheetahs rarely miss. However, cheetahs are shy cats and will readily give up their victim when pressed, especially in the case of a roaming lioness, or scavenging hyena. Nevertheless, cheetahs are not ones to be discouraged and “try, try again” along with “all is not fun and games until somebody loses their life”, play a major role in the very intriguing life of this extremely intriguing cat.
From predator to protectress, female cheetahs know how the make a kill and great mamas! Expectant mother cheetahs have a skimpy gestation period of 90 to 95 days. I say skimpy because, in contrast to the short wait a mother cheetah can expect, on average, 4 cubs (although a litter can range anywhere from 1 to 8). Cubs are born blind, weighing less than a pound. Cubs also have long mane-like hair covering their backs, heads, and necks; this they keep for about 3 months. Newborn cubs have faint spots on their bellies and dark grayish fur. By 2 to 8 days a cheetah babe will open its eyes. At one week the vigorous cubs begin crawling, and at 10 to 11 days begin to walk. Nonetheless, even at such a rapid growth rate the baby cats are helpless without a governess! Mother cheetahs will try anything to keep their brood from harm, but, bravery can be dangerous and oftentimes cubs will starve to death from want of milk because, like many others before her, their mother gave her lives for her cubs. Hyenas, lions, lionesses, and poachers may take the devoted mother’s life, and in doing so, take the lives of her dependent cubs. But, for the cubs, all is not lost! Every so often an exceptionally blessed cub will be adopted by an eager cheetah mother with cubs of her own, or bizarrely, (in the case of a male cub) a group of roaming male cheetahs. But sadly, one study in the Serengeti showed only 7 out of 125 cubs who were born around the same age survived to live alone. Though, if a mother cheetah does survive to raise her cubs, she will teach them to begin hunting around 4 ½ or 5 months old. At this age the babies are also fast enough to outrun predators and they have acquired the standard (or in a few rare cases king) cheetah coloring. Then at 15 to 18 months old the cubs will leave home permanently.
But, although female cheetahs are far from bachelorettes, male cheetahs are the ultimate Casanovas. Male cheetahs are very sociable and often group together for life, especially brothers. Groups such as these are called “coalitions”, as mentioned in the former paragraph, coalitions will occasionally adopt orphaned male cheetahs. Males, as also observed in other species, are very territorial. Coalitions are 6 times more likely to obtain territory than a lone male, thought will they keep their territory for the same length of time (about 4 to 4 ½ years).
A tear streak, a splotch, and among tall swaying plain grasses she stalks her quarry, crouching with stealth, and in a hurdle of excitement, she pounces, catching it up with a rip of claws. . . a sight that might possibly have been observed by Major A. L. Cooper.
Most think of a cheetah as a lean short-coated liquid golden cat with spots. Major A. L. Cooper was in agreement before his consequently intriguing visit to Zimbabwe in 1926. There he sighted the first king Cheetah. Cream colored and splotched from left to right, the king cheetah was considered a myth until true evidence turned up 55 years later. During that time only 11 reliable sightings of king cheetahs and 13 king cheetah skins were known to exist. In addition kings had only been sighted in Zimbabwe, Botswana, and the Transvaal region of South Africa. Therefore, it was a grand surprise when a tiny fuzzy striped and splotched cub was born to a common cheetah at the Cheetah Research and Breeding Center in De Wilt, South Africa. That same spring in 1981, another pregnant common cheetah, sent from De Wilt to the zoo in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, also gave birth to a king cub only two days later. The recipient of the pregnant cheetah returned the little king to De Wilt, which accordingly has the largest population of king cheetahs in captivity. In conclusion, king cheetahs are not a new cheetah species, but rather a color variation from the common cheetah. However, this story goes to show that whether king or common, a cheetah is a cheetah no matter the pattern of its coat. Now, hang in there while we sprint alongside the cheetah and investigate the wonders God has put into one small, very interesting cat!
A cheetah’s diet relies heavily on what food is available. If food is plentiful a cheetah may feast heartily on antelope, gazelle, or impala. But if food is scarce ostriches, hares, lizards, frogs, and occasionally Tsama melons (which are favorites on the blistering savannah, for they hold tons of thirst-quenching water), may be added to a cheetah’s ever increasing menu. Another aspect of a cheetah’s diet is its surroundings, for example in a bountiful area, on a plentiful day, a cheetah will hunt and successfully kill large prey every day, but if the cheetah’s territory is sparse (as far as prey is concerned) a cheetah will hunt and successfully kill large prey every two and a half days. Now to be explicitly honest, explaining a cheetah’s diet is scarcely achievable, but explaining how a cheetah hunts is unattainable. Although, to attempt this feat would be courageous, thus, to begin at the beginning, I, the author, will endeavor to explain the unexplainable: How a cheetah hunts. I’ll begin with stalking; a skill essential for making a kill, this ability is used by all cats, from Bengal tigers to tabby mousers, cheetahs included. Cheetahs stalk prey until within sprinting distance (which is about 550 ft), then, from a complete standstill, they rip across the plains accelerating to 70 m.p.h .in 3 seconds. Amazing? Wait, there’s more; this whole chase lasts for about 20 seconds. Whoa! (And I ask you, how can there not be a Creator behind that?) But, a cheetah’s miraculous speed doesn’t always put food on the table, more often than not it will take many more times than once to make a successful kill. When chasing adult prey cheetahs only catch their quarry about half the time, when chasing juvenile prey cheetahs rarely miss. However, cheetahs are shy cats and will readily give up their victim when pressed, especially in the case of a roaming lioness, or scavenging hyena. Nevertheless, cheetahs are not ones to be discouraged and “try, try again” along with “all is not fun and games until somebody loses their life”, play a major role in the very intriguing life of this extremely intriguing cat.
From predator to protectress, female cheetahs know how the make a kill and great mamas! Expectant mother cheetahs have a skimpy gestation period of 90 to 95 days. I say skimpy because, in contrast to the short wait a mother cheetah can expect, on average, 4 cubs (although a litter can range anywhere from 1 to 8). Cubs are born blind, weighing less than a pound. Cubs also have long mane-like hair covering their backs, heads, and necks; this they keep for about 3 months. Newborn cubs have faint spots on their bellies and dark grayish fur. By 2 to 8 days a cheetah babe will open its eyes. At one week the vigorous cubs begin crawling, and at 10 to 11 days begin to walk. Nonetheless, even at such a rapid growth rate the baby cats are helpless without a governess! Mother cheetahs will try anything to keep their brood from harm, but, bravery can be dangerous and oftentimes cubs will starve to death from want of milk because, like many others before her, their mother gave her lives for her cubs. Hyenas, lions, lionesses, and poachers may take the devoted mother’s life, and in doing so, take the lives of her dependent cubs. But, for the cubs, all is not lost! Every so often an exceptionally blessed cub will be adopted by an eager cheetah mother with cubs of her own, or bizarrely, (in the case of a male cub) a group of roaming male cheetahs. But sadly, one study in the Serengeti showed only 7 out of 125 cubs who were born around the same age survived to live alone. Though, if a mother cheetah does survive to raise her cubs, she will teach them to begin hunting around 4 ½ or 5 months old. At this age the babies are also fast enough to outrun predators and they have acquired the standard (or in a few rare cases king) cheetah coloring. Then at 15 to 18 months old the cubs will leave home permanently.
But, although female cheetahs are far from bachelorettes, male cheetahs are the ultimate Casanovas. Male cheetahs are very sociable and often group together for life, especially brothers. Groups such as these are called “coalitions”, as mentioned in the former paragraph, coalitions will occasionally adopt orphaned male cheetahs. Males, as also observed in other species, are very territorial. Coalitions are 6 times more likely to obtain territory than a lone male, thought will they keep their territory for the same length of time (about 4 to 4 ½ years).
A tear streak, a splotch, and among tall swaying plain grasses she stalks her quarry, crouching with stealth, and in a hurdle of excitement, she pounces, catching it up with a rip of claws. . . a sight that might possibly have been observed by Major A. L. Cooper.