Animal Podcast 17 - American Cheetah

Animal Podcast 17 - American Cheetah

Today, I will follow up on my Pronghorn post with the American Cheetah Miracinonyx. Before we begin, I would like to note that this model is not very good. It is a small model from some random ice age creatures set. I served its purpose as a kid's toy well, but for this, imagine a large cheetah instead. 

Anyway, Miracinonyx was one of the many megafaunas of the Pleistocene of North America. This megafauna status is showcased by its estimated max size of 209 lbs with a standard individual weight of 150 lbs. This may sound light, but realize a normal cheetah's weight, at max, is 159 lbs. The largest modern Cheetahs barely outweigh the average Miracinonyx. Despite this size, the American Cheetah probably hunted Bighorn Sheep, Mountain Goats, and Pronghorn. This brings up a good point. Many of North America's current residences were also around in the Pleistocene, yet the megafauna went extinct. This could have been for many reasons. The most popular proposed are climate change and human hunting. We may never know the true reason, though. This doesn't exactly explain why Miracinonyx, in particular, went extinct since its prey is still around. What probably happened is that it was out-competed by the more adaptable Cougars, which now live across the whole of the Americas. Competition probably explains other extinction as well. Dire Wolves, which were more closely related to Jackels, most likely got out-competed by Grey Wolves, and Megalodon was most likely out-competed by Livyatan. (Yes, this replaces what I proposed in the Megalodon post, but I was using an outdated theory. Then again, this could change literally as I post this, so it is really neither here nor there.) Overall, life is a mystery, and so is death. Also, extinct things tend to be bigger and cooler than what we have now. Emphasis on tending.