PostHole
Compose
Login
Tooth and Claw: Cheetahs
Adam Hart investigates the fastest land animal in the world – the cheetah! Built for high-speed chases, these spotted cats are slender, with semi-retractable claws for good grip and a flexible spine plus a long tail for balance and manoeuvrability. Cheetahs rely on speed over brute strength when hunting – and can make tight, quick turns to shift course in fast pursuit of their prey. But with shrinking populations cheetahs are classified as vulnerable – so what’s being done in terms of conservation and are these projects having any success?
Adam hears how cheetahs differ from lions and leopards and learns about their relationships with other predators. He looks at their unique adaptions and behaviours, as well as the different approaches that conservationists are undertaking to try and reverse the population decline. And we also hear about the re-introduction of cheetahs to India.
Contributors:
Professor Sarah Durant is from the Zoological Society of London and is project leader of the Africa Range-Wide Cheetah Conservation Initiative.
Vincent van der Merwe is director of The Metapopulation Initiative and is cheetah metapopulation coordinator for Southern Africa and India.
Presenter: Professor Adam Hart
Producer: Jonathan Blackwell
Editor: Holly Squire
Production Coordinator: Jonathan Harris
Studio Manager: Andrew Garratt
(Photo: Cheetah, Credit: Paul & Paveena Mckenzie via Getty Images)
Accessibility links
BBC World Service
Discovery
- Discovery Home
- Episodes
- Galleries
- Podcast
- Join us on Facebook
Main content
Listen now
Tooth and Claw: Cheetahs
Discovery
Adam Hart investigates the fastest land animal in the world – the cheetah! Built for high-speed chases, the population of these spotted cats is shrinking and they are vulnerable.
Adam Hart investigates the fastest land animal in the world – the cheetah! Built for high-speed chases, these spotted cats are slender, with semi-retractable claws for good grip and a flexible spine plus a long tail for balance and manoeuvrability. Cheetahs rely on speed over brute strength when hunting – and can make tight, quick turns to shift course in fast pursuit of their prey. But with shrinking populations cheetahs are classified as vulnerable – so what’s being done in terms of conservation and are these projects having any success?
Adam hears how cheetahs differ from lions and leopards and learns about their relationships with other predators. He looks at their unique adaptions and behaviours, as well as the different approaches that conservationists are undertaking to try and reverse the population decline. And we also hear about the re-introduction of cheetahs to India.
Contributors:
Professor Sarah Durant is from the Zoological Society of London and is project leader of the Africa Range-Wide Cheetah Conservation Initiative.
Vincent van der Merwe is director of The Metapopulation Initiative and is cheetah metapopulation coordinator for Southern Africa and India.
Presenter: Professor Adam Hart
Producer: Jonathan Blackwell
Editor: Holly Squire
Production Coordinator: Jonathan Harris
Studio Manager: Andrew Garratt
(Photo: Cheetah, Credit: Paul & Paveena Mckenzie via Getty Images)
###
####
Higher quality (128kbps)
Lower quality (64kbps)
Available now
27 minutes
Last on
Tue 12 Dec 2023
13:32GMT
BBC World Service except East Asia & South Asia
More episodes
Previous
Next
When does sitting become bad for health?
See all episodes from Discovery
Broadcasts
Mon 11 Dec 2023
20:32GMT
BBC World Service Online, Americas and the Caribbean, UK DAB/Freeview & Europe and the Middle East only & BBC Afghan Radio
Mon 11 Dec 2023
21:32GMT
BBC World Service except Online, Americas and the Caribbean, Europe and the Middle East & UK DAB/Freeview
Tue 12 Dec 2023
05:32GMT
BBC World Service Australasia, Americas and the Caribbean, South Asia & East Asia only
Space
The eclipses, spacecraft and astronauts changing our view of the Universe
The Curious Cases of Rutherford and Fry
[The Curious Cases of Rutherford and Fry]
A pair of scientific sleuths answer your perplexing questions. Ask them anything!
Podcast
Discovery
Explorations in the world of science.
Similar programmes
By genre:
- Factual > Science & Nature
By format:
Magazines & Reviews
[BBC World Service homepage]
News in more than 40 languages