“just be still, don’t move, let the big protected scary creature finish what it’s up to and then it’ll get bored and wander off”
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Also known as morning playtime in the living room, round these parts.
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It’s even more fascinating when you know they really are mortal enemies. Not long ago I heard a bunch of hissing in the yard and opened the door to call our cat. Normally he would come in a run, but this time it was a deliberate stroll because he didn’t want the other cat to think that he was leaving because he couldn’t kick his ass. If he cared enough to…
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Humperdoo was mildly disgusting, not scary; though his followers were another story.
The comparison is a big stretch, yo; but everyone’s mind ‘processes’ differently, so YMMV…
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Yes, but cheetahs are small cats. The hyoid bone which connects the tongue to the roof of the mouth denotes the difference. In big cats, this has an elastic segment, while that of small cats is hard all over. Which is why cheetahs can purr but lions can’t.
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Lol, they purr and meow:
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“oh hey whattup? Ya like hardstyle?”
P̸O̸N̸G̸ ̸P̸O̸N̸G̸ ̸P̸O̸N̸G̸
[Cheetah runs off]
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“You were nothing before you met me. You were playing Barbies with Betty Finn. You were a Bluebird. You were a Brownie. You were a Girl Scout Cookie.”
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your not supposed to look them square in the eye as later there’s no cheat sheet
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I’ve never heard the meow before. It’s freakin’ adorable.
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There are lots of videos like this. I like this one where a cheetah gracefully stands on top of the roof only to have a slight accident:
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Cheetahs are large cats, but don’t belong to the “big cat” family. Big cats are ambush predators (don’t turn your back on them); cheetahs are not. See this video.
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Cheetah also don’t have retractable claws, theirs are blunt, like a dog’s claws, because they need them for grip while running, which most cats don’t. Remarkably chilled around humans, even domestic cats can be antagonistic with their human pets.
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OMG - Squeee! I’ve never heard that before.
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I’m going on a Serengeti safari this fall. I would be ecstatic if this happened (also, terrified).
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Let it bite your arm if it happens. It is too small to kill you and then you can use it to pick up people in bars when you tell them about the time you got bit by a cheetah.
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Cheetahs are almost like a large cat that’s a sight hound. They range in size/length with a mountain lion, but tend to weigh on average about a third less, perfect for sprints/chasing. If the person ran , their predator drive might kick in and they might chase, but even then, humans are maybe too large for cheetahs (barring extreme hunger, feeding cubs, and the weirdness of captivity).
In the video, it looks like the cheetahs have worn that path along the fence by pacing. If that’s the case, then the pacing behavior can indicate animals oblivious to anything to one side or the other. I once saw a jaguar pacing the fence of an enclosure at the Chicago Zoo, and was shocked to see a rabbit in the grass inside the pen. The rabbit didn’t move, but the jaguar was so focused on its pacing it didn’t see it, though it passed the rabbit every time (of course if bunny bolted…).
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IIRC, that’s the thing you should do if attacked by lions, too. They don’t hunt primates, and as I understand it, aren’t entirely sure what to do with a human. So they might gnaw on a limb, which is not going to be nice, but is probably survivable.
Whereas leopards and such do hunt and kill apes, and they know exactly how to kill one – bite at the back of the skull, tear the belly open with their hind legs – so if you’re attacked by a leopard you’re probably more screwed than if attacked by a lion.
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I… don’t know about that. I thought they would eat a monkey if they could (so would a Cheetah), and I’ve seen videos of lions killing people… Probably not the PREFERRED meal compared to a buffalo or zebra, but still.
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Oh sure, lions can certainly kill people; they’re big predators with big teeth and sharp claws. But it’s not their forte, so to speak. 
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