Cheetah

Did you know a cheetah can run 70 miles per hour? That’s how fast we go on the freeway. When a cheetah is chasing it’s prey, it runs half it’s normal speed. When it runs, it has it’s tail up to help them keep balance and only one paw hits the ground at a time

Cheetahs are carnivores, which means they eat only meat. Cheetahs eat gazel, zebra and more. Cheetahs can carry their prey all the way up a tree.

To tell a cheetah and leopard apart, the cheetah has spots and leopards have a flower like pattern.

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Coyote

This is for my friend’s mom, Miss Shari.

Coyote howling in winter..Photographed in Northern Minnesota
© outdoorsman – Fotolia.com

Did you know that coyotes live all over the United States? This might be really hard to believe but coyotes even live in big cities like Los Angeles and Dallas, Texas.

Coyotes can have up to twelve pups. Coyote pups are born in spring, and when their mom thinks they’re ready, they come out of their den to play and learn. To teach their pups to hunt, a mother coyote catches a mouse very carefully, then she lets the pups chase after them until they catch one.

Coyotes are very good tricksters.  Sometimes they jump around like goofs while birds watch. Then his or her partner will catch them for diner.  That’s a good hunting trick.

In the hills by my house, where my family and I like to run and hike, there are a lot of coyotes. My school’s mascot is even a coyote.

Capybara

This is for Rilee, who loves Capybaras!

Capybaras have  very sharp teeth . They are the biggest members of the rodent family.  They love to swim, unlike other rodents. When they sense fear, sometimes they dive under water. They can stay underwater for 5 minutes! Can you imagine that?  They can even sleep underwater with just their noses poking out.

Capybara means “Master of all grasses.”  That is a good name because they eat a lot of grass and live in grasslands.