International Cheetah Day

International Cheetah Day is celebrated on December 4th around the world. These are beautiful graceful animals with amazing coloring and lightning speed! Unfortunately, they require our protection: big cats have been declared endangered. We can stop this if we unite!

History

The holiday was founded in 2010 and has an interesting history of origin! In 1977, American zoologist and just a brave woman Laurie L. Marker traveled on a safari in Oregon. She came up with the idea to take a leopard to see if he could then return to the wild, hunt and survive. The experiment was a success, but another problem surfaced along with it – the inhabitants of Namibia were engaged in the destruction of animals. These were the owners of livestock, which were attacked from time to time by cheetahs.

Laurie fought the situation desperately. She spent many hours with the population, teaching them how to live close to the wild and not disturb its balance. In 1992, the Cheetah Conservation Foundation was established to study and maintain the animal population. It was the most important step in the field!

Interesting facts

Did you know that cheetahs:

• have a unique speed, catching up with prey in a few seconds. The recorded record belongs to a cheetah named Sarah – she overcame 100 meters in 5 seconds;
• they perfectly see their prey in any weather – the black coloring of the eyes allows you not to be distracted by bad weather conditions for hunting;
• do not tolerate extreme heat, preferring to leave their shelters at night or on cloudy days;
• easily make contact with a person and get along side by side;
• do not know how to climb trees because of blunt nails;
• 50% of the time when running are in the air;
• highly trainable, including a variety of teams;
• do not know how to growl – they purr and meow;
• they rarely drink water – once every 3-4 days is enough for them.

How to celebrate

Go on safari! It will definitely be a cool trip and, of course, a meeting with wild animals. Make a donation to the Laurie L. Marker Foundation or volunteer. Learn more about cheetahs and tell your friends about them.

When is International Cheetah Day celebrated in 2022?

International Cheetah Day is observed on December 4 each year.

Observations