What’s the first animal that you think of after reading the title? Hopefully for the majority, it would’ve been the cheetah because that’s the mammal I’m going to talk about. (I’m pretty sure some people, in an attempt to prove their ‘superior’ knowledge, chose the peregrine falcon or some other weird animal not known to most people. In that case, you are right, but I am focusing on land animals.
The cheetah is easily able to reach a speed of 110~120km/h, having a strong advantage over other animals when hunting. Unlike other predators like the lion or leopard, the cheetah can run from afar after having spotted their prey, thus giving them a 40~50% chance of catching their prey.
The cheetah’s fast speed is a result of generations of natural selection. The main prey of a cheetah is the gazelle, a small and quick animal whose agility cannot be matched by most predators. The cheetah has evolved over time to target this ‘niche market’. To inhale more oxygen, their lungs have increased in size, allowing them to breathe 150 times /min instead of 60. To speed up their blood circulation, their heart, liver and arteries have increased. To become faster and more flexible, their leg bones and spine have become thin and long. To
reduce the wind resistance, the jaw and teeth have become smaller and their weight has reduced by 40~50kg
Ironically however, the cheetah’s ill-fate arises from here. Although they sacrificed everything to achieve the speed they wanted, because of this, they are nearing extinction.
The rate of success of their hunt is high but, due to their small body size, half of what they catch is stolen. The leopard, to prevent its catch from being stolen by hyenas and lions, takes its meal up a tree, but the cheetah doesn’t have such abilities and is therefore forced to retreat quietly, unable to do anything.
Another, more serious reason, is their heavy dependence on gazelles. Because gazelles are a cheetah’s main energy source, a small decrease in the number of gazelles will have a huge impact on cheetahs. Due to industrial developments in Africa, areas of natural habitats are diminishing, consequently leading to a fall in the population of gazelles and high competition amongst the cheetahs. It is a side effect brought on by specialisation.
It is undeniable that specialisation is necessary. But to concentrate only on the fire in front of your feet instead of looking far and wide cannot really be called specialisation. True specialisation happens after thoroughly reading the world changes and specialising according to those changes.
Being able to run quickly is important, but being able to run in the right direction is more significant. The faster you run in the wrong direction, the longer the return will be. The sadness of having to leave what you catch evidently does not only happen in the animal world.
Chae-Yoon Kim
