does a cheetah keep its mate for life
Cheetahs breed throughout the year; they are induced ovulators. Females become sexually mature at 21 to 22 months of age. Females are polyoestrus -- they have an oestrus (``heat'') cycle every 12 days (this can vary from 10 to 20 days), each oestrus lasting one to three days. A female can give birth again after 17 to 20 months; however, on the loss of a whole litter mothers can mate again. Urine-marking in males becomes more pronounced when a female in their vicinity comes into oestrus. Males fight among one another to secure access to the female; even males in a coalition may show some aggression toward one another on approaching a female. One male eventually wins dominance over the others. Mating, observed mainly at night, begins with the male approaching the female, who lies down on the ground. No courtship behaviour is observed; the male immediately secures hold of the female's nape and copulation takes place. The pair then ignore each other and part ways. However, they meet and copulate a few more times within the next few days. Polyandrous, females can mate with several males. The mean number of motile sperm in a single ejaculation is nearly 25.3 million.
Cheetah