Cheetah/Lemur/Lion

Josh French, Writer

Cheetahs are carnivores who live up to 10 to 12 years. They grow to be 3.5ft to 4.5ft in size and their tails get 25.5 to 31.5 inches. In weight, cheetahs weigh around 77 to 143 pounds. Most cheetahs are white with a coat of brown/orange and black lines and dots. This coat helps the cheetah blend in with high and dry grasses, helping it catch prey. Cheetahs are the fastest land mammals and they can go 0 to 60 miles per hour in 3 seconds. Not only are they fast, but they have amazing eyesight which helps them hunt and kill prey. 

The Ring Tail Lemur is a herbivore and their average life span ranges around 18 years. Their size, not including their tail, can grow up to 17.75 inches. Lemur tails are bigger than their body, sizing around 21.75 inches. They usually weigh around 5 to 7.5 pounds. Lemurs are most commonly light brown/black with white going around their body and face, and their tail is white with black stripes. Additionally, they have small eyes and noses. Their diet consists of mostly fruit, but they also eat leaves, flowers, tree bark, and sap. They use their hands to go tree to tree, but they can’t use their tails to grip trees as their primate cousins can. Lemurs also spend a lot of time on the ground, which is unusual among lemur species. 

African lions are carnivores. Their head and body size range from 4.5 to 6.5 feet. Lion’s tails are around 26.25 inches to 39.5 inches and they weigh 265 to 420 pounds. They range in color with patterns that have different shading, but they are mostly light brown with a mane that circles their head. Lions eat things like antelopes, zebras, and wildebeest. The female of the lions will do most of the hunting. They usually hunt in groups because they are not very fast compared to the animals they’re trying to kill, but if the opportunity presents itself, lions will hunt alone.