86 WILD BEASTS OF THE WOKLD 



India. Neither is it found in the Malabar Coast of that country, or in 

 Ceylon— the " Cheetah " of that island being the true Leopard. 



It is not found in heavy forest, although it is able, in spite of its 

 blunt claws, to climb trees on occasion ; for its method of hunting is 

 such as can only be practised successfully in the open, and accordingly 

 it lives in districts where bush and rocks are the only cover; it is 

 especially characteristic of dry districts, and does not ascend high 

 mountains. 



Its food is such animals as it may come across in the districts it 

 inhabits — chiefly the smaller kinds, such as Hares, Gazelles, and large 

 ground-birds. It seldom attacks tame animals, and has never been 

 known to make an assault on man ; but that it can master animals of 

 considerable size and strength is shown by its preying on the Nilgai in 

 India, though its more common quarry is the Blackbuck ; in Africa also 

 a pair have been seen to pull down so large and powerful a beast as the 

 bull Koodoo. 



The Cheetah's methods are a modification of those of the ordinary 

 Cats — it begins by stalking its intended victim, but is not dependent 

 on a mere short rush when it gets within its range, but pursues its prey 

 for some distance and captures it by sheer speed, the chase sometimes 

 lasting for nearly a quarter of a mile. The animal's fleetness is agreed 

 by all observers to be something astonishing, and far superior to that 

 of the Greyhound, for the Dog cannot fairly pull down the female Black- 

 buck, for instance,, at all, whereas the Cheetah will often run up to her 

 in a couple of hundred yards, though she may have a start for that 

 distance ; for the swift Cat, though he employs the tactics of his tribe 

 at the commencement, is enabled by his speed to make his attack openly 

 at the finish. When he overhauls his prey, he knocks its feet from 

 under it with a blow of his paw, and then pins it by the throat. Often, 

 of course, he is unsuccessful, and then gives up the chase ; no doubt 

 often through discouragement, but also because, like all Cats, he is really 

 short-winded, being unable to keep up his marvellous speed for a really 

 long run, unlike the Dog tribe. Thus, it has been repeatedly proved 

 in India, that a horseman can ride down and spear a Cheetah after a 



