Breeding males are territorial, competing for property in the hunting grounds traversed by most females. Serengeti males defend exclusive properties of 15 to 30 square miles (39 78 square kilometers). Male intruders are likely to be attacked and are sometimes killed, particularly if they cross the property of a male coalition. Most Serengeti adult males associate in coalitions 40% in pairs and 19% in trios. Most though not all are brothers that have stayed together after separating from their mother at 17 to 23 months. Coalition partners are more standoffish than their lion counterparts and unequal one is dominant and monopolizes most mating opportunities. But being number 2 or 3 is a better deal than being a solo number 1 in the Serengeti since only 4% of the single males ever win territories. Pairs have territorial tenures averaging 7.5 months and trios 22 months, compared to only 4 months for single males. Another advantage of coalitions is their tendency to kill bigger animals than single hunters.
Female cheetahs usually settle within their mother's home range, but most males
travel long distances before maturing and settling down over 124 mi. (200 km) in
the case of 9 males marked in Namibia.
When cover is available, a cheetah uses it like any cat and shows same ability to
anticipate opportunities—like waiting crouched in ambush if game is moving
in its direction. Lacking cover, a cheetah tries open slow approach toward alert
antelopes watching or even coming closer for a better look. If within 60 to 70 yd
before they take flight, a cheetah gallops after them seeking a specific quarry,
then accelerates to full speed. When a herd is grazing and unaware of its presence,
a cheetah often tries a running approach to get within sprinting range before the
animals take flight. A cheetah sprinting flat-out after a gazelle overtakes it with
apparent ease. But then the gazelle turns sharply and the cheetah's greater speed
keeps it from turning as sharply. If the gazelle manages to dodge its pursuer 3 or
4 times, the cat runs out of steam. But when a cheetah spots a young gazelle or
other antelope that should be hiding, it runs up to 600 yd to claim a small but
sure meal.
Cheetahs bring down quarry either by tripping it or knocking it off balance with
a sideward or downward blow to its hindquarters. One running much slower or standing
is pulled down by rearing and hooking its shoulder or flank with a dewclaw and
yanking backward. Once the victim is down, the cat lunges for its throat, secures
a vicelike grip on its windpipe, and proceeds to choke it to death, usually within
4 to 5 minutes. A cheetah then drags its kill into nearest cover, where it proceeds
to eat up to 30 lb. (14 kg), meanwhile keeping a lookout for hyenas and lions.
Skin and bones and digestive tract are left uneaten; cheetahs do not return to
their kills. Fully fed cheetahs can fast 2 to 5 days before killing again, but
mothers keep much busier: one with cubs captured 31 gazelles and a hare in 35 days.
Crouching posture of a cheetah as it sniffs scent mark intently, followed by scuff
marking male/female urinating; spraying urine; defecating; or (rarely) clawsharpening. Cheetahs
leave calling cards that tell who is/was in the neighborhood, on prominent landmarks
mounds and rocks (also used as observation posts), lone trees and bushes. Every
passing cheetah meanders from landmark to landmark, receiving and leaving olfactory
news.Urine spraying. females spray less actively than males except
when coming into heat; both urine and feces of estrous female attract all passing
males.Offensive threat stiff legged approach with head below shoulder level, often in
broadside stance. Black tear marks and car backs show distinctly
on lowered head.Charging in offensive threat.Defensive threat sudden lunges, slapping ground and snapping, alternating with
crouching and open mouthed snarl.Greeting ceremony contact limited to sniffing, face licking, and
checkrubbing.Most cheetah calls are unlike those of other cats.Chirping and yelping. Sounds like bird's chirp and dog’s yelp or yip; audible for
over a mile at high intensity. Graded contact calls often
given alternately and repeatedly.Churring a staccato, high pitched growling sound, less audible than chirping. Mother
calling hidden cubs, greeting or courting adults, and cubs at a kill.Bleating. Sound of distress, equivalent to
meowing.Moaning voiced along with bleating, growling, snarling, hissing,
and coughing.Purring Friendly, contented cheetahs purr
like huge domestic cats.Staccato purring. Voiced by a male on the
trail of an estrous female.Whirring changes to ferocious squeal at peak intensity. Made by cubs squabbling
over a kill. May be equivalent to growling in other cats.Nyam-nyam. Another sound
cubs make while feeding.Ihn-ihn. Mother summoning young, alternates
with chirping.Staccato purring. Sharp call by mother that
elicits close following.Short, high pitched call. Makes cubs stay still.Chasing, boxing, wrestling, tug of war, king of the castle, climbing trees,
ambushing, stalking, pouncing. Cheetah cubs are particularly
playful and acrobatic.Chasing and slapping one another's hindquarters, the cheetah technique for downing
prey. Becomes commonest form of play, beginning at 3 months.