The International Cheetah Day

International cheetah day is celebrated globally on December 4th every year. The purpose of this day is to raise awareness to save the endangered big cats. Every year people participate in different save endangered big cat campaigns on social media and otherwise to stop the wild hunt of nature's amazing beats, the wild Cheetah.

Cheetah is the fastest land mammal and big wild cat. Cheetahs are undoubtedly one of the fantastic animals created by Mother Nature. Known not only for their speed but also for their beauty, cheetahs are the elite feline. Sadly, today, only 8000 to 7100 big cats are left in Africa. December 4th celebrates international cheetah day to promote the survival of the cheetah population by slowing down the wild Cheetahs extinction.

History Behind Celebrating International Cheetah Day

December 4th is celebrated in the remembrance of Khayam, a cheetah cub raised by an American zoologist, Dr. Laurie Marker, at Wildlife Safari in Winston, Oregon. Dr. Marker took Khayam to Namibia as a part of a research project to show the world that captive-born cheetahs can be taught to hunt and adapt to live in the wild on their own. On her trip, she learned that the world's fastest land animal is endangered. The farmers were eliminating the cheetahs to protect their livestock.

Though the experiment on captive cheetahs was successful, Dr Laurie was concerned about the endangered feline. She moved back to Namibia to resolve the farmer cheetah conflict, to preserve the cheetah population.

In 1991, Dr. Marker laid the "Cheetah Conservation Fund" foundation 1991. In 2010, she officially dedicated Khayyam's birthday, December 4th as international cheetah day, to spread awareness about Africa's most endangered feline.

Some Interesting Facts About Cheetah

Despite being endangered, Cheetahs still hold the position as one of mother nature's wonders. While many people confuse some of the cheetah's traits with the King of the Jungle, both feline species are different.

The Fastest Land Mammal

No animal on earth can beat a Cheetah when it comes to running speed! These amazing animals are known for their high speeds. It is believed that their full running speed is incredibly fast that their feet barely touch the ground. At a top speed, a Cheetah strides at 21 feet. In just three seconds, this fastest animal can reach 70mph.

Cheetah Derived from Chita

Cheetah derived from "Chita" is a Hindi word that means "Spotted one." The yellow furry skin of a cheetah is covered with hundreds of black spots, hence the name Cheetah.

Female Cheetahs Live Alone

The female Cheetahs live alone; they brought up their cubs alone while males lived in a group and loved being surrounded by female cheetahs.

Cheetah Prey During The Day

Like other nocturnal animals, which usually prey at night, they have a tapetum in their eyes, but they mainly hunt during the day. The black line running out of their eyes reflects the sun's radiations, and Cheetahs see better at the day as well.

Cheetahs don't roar

While most of you think that just like a lion, cheetahs may also roar, surprisingly, cheetahs growl or purr, it is because they lack two bones in their throat.

They specify their Space

Cheetahs love their Space. Even they chose the less dense place to live and prey where they see fewer chances of other more giant predators to hunt. Cheetahs roam the vast area of 30,000 square kilometers.

They don't drink water very often

Cheetahs don't drink water more often; they get moisture from their prey.

How to Celebrate an International Cheetah Day?

Over the last four decades, there has been a 50% decline in the wildlife cheetah population. Many reasons are putting these wild cats under the threat of extinction. Due to increased human settlements, the natural habitat of cheetahs is destroyed. Moreover, cheetah hunting and climate change are leading reasons for the extinction pressure.

International wildlife celebrates international cheetah day every year to preserve the cheetah population. If you haven’t been participating in the campaigns to save Cheetah, come forward this year and help keep the cheetah population thriving.

Here is a list of things that you can do to celebrate international cheetah day:

Become a Cheetah Ambassador

Raise your voice against cheetah hunting and captive cheetahs on your social media accounts. You can start or join different “save the cheetah” or “cheetah conservation” hashtag campaigns on social media. You can also organize or participate in a cheetah campaign in your local zoo. Some people organize cheetah-themed parties to raise awareness about the dire situation of wildlife cheetahs.

Learn More about them

How can you fight for a cause if you don’t know much about it? So, this year, spare some of your time and read about the world’s fastest animal, their habitat, and possible ways to preserve their population. You can learn about the magnificent cats on BioPark education.

Donate to Cheetah Conservation Fund

Dr. Laurie Marker, also known as the Cheetah’s champion, first laid the foundation of the Cheetah Conservation Fund. Since then, many cheetah conservation funds have been dedicated to saving the endangered wildlife cheetah. You can make donations to any of the cheetah conservation funds.

Wildlife Safari

One way to appreciate and connect with nature’s most gorgeous beasts is to go on a safari. You can witness the cheetahs in action by visiting wildlife conservation. Or you can always fly to Africa to watch these beats in their full glory!