In my original test of ambush theory I only sampled cheetahs.
That's a yes.
Yes, yes.
In my second installment of testing ambush theory of big cats, I compared leopards with cheetahs.
There's a stark difference between the two, and the willingness and nature to do it.
The difference between cheetahs and leopards ambush styles is certainly related to the mental and physical
diversity.
It's influenced by the habitats in which they live,
pressures from nature over time, and predation success rates
It's too hot, the ground.
Cheetahs are physically and mentally designed to run. They have a high center of gravity,
lower muscle mass, and can't grapple as well as a leopard can.
Massive paws - look at his paws!
In stark contrast are leopards, which are physically and mentally designed for close proximity encounters with predators or prey.
Leopards have a larger head and jaws,
massive paws with retractable sharp claws, a lower center of gravity,
More muscle mass, and the willingness and ability to fight and grapple.
All the above and more are why you see leopards classified as ambush predators, and cheetahs typically not.
Now, watch a simple comparison of the two.
What happens if you turn your back to caged leopards.
(Let's find out.)
I know, I know what you're thinking... what a wuss! Why don't you go inside the leopard enclosure and turn your back?
That's because knowledge is power. I know these leopards would pummel me if I did that.
These leopards are young, and I don't want to encourage them jumping on people. I only did this once for educational purposes.
Watch how showing my face and turning away instinctively gets Cassius to approach closer.
It's the exact technique leopards use to ambush their prey in the wild.
These are one year-old male African spotted leopards.
So, what about turning your back to a cheetah...while you're asleep? What will happen?
(Oh - oh my gosh, what are you- Dew! Okay.)
Purr, wake you up, lick your face, and chew your nose.
...and keep you up most of the night.
That was just for fun. Let me show you what happened when I turn my back to a cheetah
I hadn't seen in over a year.
Just a groom - a morning groom.
Okay - granted, that's teen cheetahs. Yeah. Love you.
Good morning, good to see you too - ah, good to see you!
Turning your back on a cheetah, it's really dependent on the individual.
It's very rare, really, the cheetah wouldn't - first of all, watch you, it would never, ever do that, unless it was stuck or something with maybe,
rabies or something.
But even tame cheetahs - young ones will do it, because they play
Older ones - watch my hair, buddy -
Older ones,  they can, as I said it really depends on
The individual - and I've had
Kenji jump my back before, it was only because he was playing, you know. Gabriel's never done that, right, buddy?
He wouldn't do that.
This is what happens when you turn your back to Gabriel. If you - if he loves you.
Otherwise, they just ignore you, that's - that's mainly what happens with these cheetahs.
Turn your back to them, they don't care.
Ignore you, even the wild ones that are here - we have some wild ones all night.
It's just an experience thing - here's the thing, if they don't like you, they'll stay away from you.
If knowledge is power, then foreknowledge is empowering.
If you work with animals long enough, you're going to recognize patterns of behavior.
There's always the oddity in nature, but animal behavior is usually a consistent.
Now, I'm not saying cheetahs never ambush their prey.
A cheetah depends on cunning, speed, and its weapons as a cat to kill.
Cheetahs typically hunt on the open plains, when they can utilize their speed more safely and efficiently.
There's not proper cover in an open plane to efficiently ambush your prey,
So cheetahs depend on their speed and skill to catch them.
They can't run at top speed very long,
but when you're the fastest land animal on the planet, you decide when and how to chase your prey.
A leopard hunts from cover, either in a tree or in brush.
It doesn't rely so much on speed as it does cunning, concealment, strength, and surprise.
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