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Flash Gordon


Flash Gordon
Photo Information
Copyright: Japie Venter (japie) Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1814 W: 100 N: 1904] (5187)
Genre: Animals
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 1989-12
Categories: Mammals
Camera: Pentax ME Super, 70 - 300mm, Skylight
Details: (Fill) Flash: Yes
Photo Version: Original Version, Workshop
Theme(s): Mammals of Southern Africa, Great cats - Grandes felinos, Felidae of the world: Second series [view contributor(s)]
Date Submitted: 2004-10-09 2:03
Viewed: 2016
Points: 28
[Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note
Shot in Cheetah at De Wildt in 1989. The enclosure that this cat was roaming in was about 60 hectares in size. This was taken with my old ME Super. The image has been scanned from a photo

Appearance
The Cheetah is credited as being the fastest land animal over short distances, and can reach speeds of up to 90 km/h (55.9 m/h) in pursuit of prey. This Cat is characterized by a slender body, long legs, and a distinctly rounded head with small rounded ears which are set wide apart.

It measures two meters from the snout to the tip of the tail, has a mass of 40 – 60 Kg's, and stands about 800mm high. It has a concave back and lower hind quarters. This Cat is characterized by a strongly spotted coat and by a long tail which is half as long as the length of its head and body.

Diet
The Cheetah’s main prey is medium to small antelope such as Steenbok and Duiker, Thomson’s Gazelle and Springbok, but there have been accounts of males grouping together to hunt larger prey such as Wildebeest. They also prey on Baboons, ground-living Birds, Hares and Porcupines.

Breeding
Cheetahs do not have a fixed seasonal breeding cycle and in this too, they are similar to leopards. Cheetah cubs are born after a gestation period of about three months. Usually two cubs are born in the litter, but occasionally there are up to six. Cubs stay with their mother for about two years, but sadly, most of them never live to adulthood because they are preyed upon by Lions, Leopards, Hyenas, Foxes and Eagles, to name but a few.

Being a comparatively frail Cat, the mother often has to give up her young or risk being killed herself. However in areas where there is good cover or few predators, the possibility of a Cheetah’s survival is quite good.

Behaviour
They live in family groups of two to six strong, although some individuals prefer a solitary existence at times. Its historical distribution has been greatly reduced and modified. Cheetah's have disappeared from very large areas of the African continent due to modern man’s colonisation. Cheetah's are predominantly diurnal, with peaks of activity at sunrise and sunset.

Choosing an elevated resting place, they lie up in the shade during the hottest hours of the day. Those who have never heard a Cheetah's call will be very surprised to hear it make an almost bird-like chirp. While they also growl, snarl and hiss like domestic Cats, they do not roar as some people might expect them to.

Habitat
Prefers to frequent open plains as is often depicted in films, but they are also at home in savannah woodland areas.
Interesting facts
The King Cheetah is not a species on its own, but rather a natural phenomena amongst the Cheetah family, where at times young are naturally born with this colouring. The King Cheetah is mainly observed in the Kruger National Park and the northern Gauteng.

Latin name
Acinonyx Jubatus
gerhardt, jhm, PDP, marhowie, ellis49, RAP, carper, TAZ, Lourens, Callie, AndyB, extramundi, touristdidi, colinbrenchley has marked this note useful
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Critiques [Translate]

You have wonderfull moments in the archives, Japie. The pose and compo is very nice. Coupld with a great note makes this a great post, TFS.

  • Great 
  • jhm Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 659 W: 0 N: 177] (622)
  • [2004-10-09 2:42]

Een zeer oude foto Japie, maar deze is zo mooi, dat u hem moest posten, prachtige houding van deze Cheetah, zo snel kan ik met mijn fiets niet rijden of deze Cheetah kan lopen. Mooi werk opnieuw.

  • Great 
  • PDP Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2964 W: 366 N: 3848] (11751)
  • [2004-10-09 7:01]

Brilliant note Japie. The pose and compo are great, the focus is a little soft I think but seeing as it is a scan then it's not too bad.

Great stuff.

Japie, Only have time for a couple this am as I'm on the move. I like this one overall for it's wonderful display of the animals coat. And all those spots! The soft look doesn't hurt with this one in my opinion. Great supporting notes! Later!

Great Japie.
Very good pose , nice colours and good details.
It is a little soft, but a little USM should fix it.
Good note,
Very well done.

El sueño del pibe... cuando era pequeño, siempre soñaba con poseer uno como mascota algún día.
Pocos felinos tienen la imagen de altivez de este animal y aquí está excelentemente retratado.
El colorido y la presentacion son realmente muy buenas.
Me atrevi a realizar un Workshop, optimizando algunos detalles de la misma... espero te agrade.

The dream of child... when he was small, always dreamed about having one like mascot someday.
Few felines have the image of arrogance of this animal and here excellently it is portrayed.
Colorful and the presentation is really very good.
I dared to make a Workshop, optimizing some details of the same one... I hope pleases to you.

The composition is very good Japie,
It's a little unsharp, but the composition and the note makes everything good.

  • Great 
  • TAZ Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2395 W: 50 N: 3190] (10896)
  • [2004-10-09 11:11]

Quel bel animal, on dirait qu'il posait pour votre photo ;-) Il me semble qu'il manque un peu de netteté...
Beautifull !

Great shot, Japie. Just goes to show what one has in the ole archives!! Excellent note as well.

  • Great 
  • Callie Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1252 W: 106 N: 2658] (7487)
  • [2004-10-09 13:29]

Hi Japie
Nice job you did on the scan. I see you are an old visitior to De Wildt! I have some nice, new info on cheeta that I got from Hoedspruit, as well as some interesting mug shots. I like his expression, he is about to say something, but think it would rather be prudent not to!

  • Great 
  • AndyB Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1592 W: 32 N: 1361] (3978)
  • [2004-10-09 15:58]

A very nice shot.
Great composition and pose from this majestic animal.
Excellent note too,very well done.

Japie
Great shot of this magnificent cat. It's a little soft, but still a nice photo.

I almost miss this one, beautiful shot, with scanning, the soft focus and postprocesing it looks like the pink panther coming out of the washing machine :D Nice for a post card.

They must surely be one of the most beautiful animals to photograph. Your note on them is excellent.

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