//------------------------------// // Chapter 18: The Steppe Cheetah // Story: The Big Cats of Bakula // by PantheraMan //------------------------------// Time passed, and at this point, Rainbow Dash's and Banda's injuries had now completely healed, and Banda could now once again hunt like he used to, and one time, he helped the Smilodons hunt a horse, something he was very experienced in, and something that bothered Sunset quite a bit. As good as things were going, there was still one thing not so great. With the magical spear now broken, it now was harder to try to get back home. "I just HAD to leave it in the cave when it collapsed." Said Kama "Look Kama, we'll try to figure something out." Said Tulu who tried to comfort her. "ROW" "ROW" "What is it?" asked Fluttershy "ROW" "RRROOOOOOOOOWWWWWWW" "Really?" replied Fluttershy "What's he saying?" asked Banda "He knows of a cave that looks like a cats head, and it has a cat artifact that can take us home." Answered Fluttershy "Perfect! Can he take us there?" asked Banda again "No, but he knows of a herd of mammoths that goes to the area it's located at this time of the year, we can travel along with them, and he'll take us to them." Answered Fluttershy So they were off again, to where the mammoth herd currently was, and the Smildon was their guide. They found the mammoths at a river, this was matriarchal herd made up of ten young females, five calves, and one matriarch. At that moment, the Smilodon had to part ways with the group to avoid getting charged at. Fluttershy went up to the matriarch to do her thing. "Umm.. excuse me, but we were wondering if we could tag along with you guys to your destination. We need to get to that special cave with the artifact that can take us home." Explained Fluttershy "HRRRAAAAAAA" "She says yes!" said Fluttershy When the herd began to move, so did the gang, and the trip was on. They walked for days, occasionally stopping to take a break, but they would always get back on the move soon after. On the way, they went on another break, however, they were accompanied by a herd of Saiga antelope. "Those are the weirdest things with hooves I've ever seen." Said Rainbow Dash "Agreed, but I bet they taste good." Said Banda before he crouched down into a stalking position, with his padded paws, he was able to get close to them without making a sound. However, before he could attack, a cheetah burst out from ambush, it chased a saiga, using it's tail as rudder, and when it as close enough, it tripped the saiga over with the dewclaw, and got to the throat, and killed the saiga. The cheetah looked like those from Africa and Iran, but it was larger. The cheetah began to quickly eat the saiga. "Wow, he's eating rather quickly." Said Applejack "Well he has to Applejack, he's not exactly the most powerful predator out here." Explained Twilight Then they were off again, but then when they were farther away, they saw a mother cheetah trying to defend her cubs from three males who wanted the cubs dead. Banda wasn't having any of it, and so he charged at them, and they fled when they laid eyes on him. The mother cheetah then took her cubs with her, and got to what she felt was a safe distance. "That was good Banda, you did the right thing." Said Sunset Shimmer "I know, I just couldn't let those guys kill her, or for them to kill the cubs." Replied Banda STEPPE CHEETAH Height: 4 ft tall at the shoulder Length: 6 ft long from nose to the tip of the tail Weight: Males are from 100-230 pounds while females are from 90-110 pounds Cheetahs are the fastest land animals on earth. The main reason for their speed is so they can hunt some of the fastest prey, which in this case, would be the Saiga antelope. Steppe cheetahs are bigger than their African and Asian cousins due to Bergmann's Law, which states that animals in colder climates will be larger than animals in warmer climates. Their adaptations for running include long legs for long strides, less-retractable claws for traction when running, a long flexible spine to help with the stride length, a long tail that acts as a rudder, and those black stripes on the face protect the eyes from the sun's glare, so it can see prey from a long distance. Females live alone,but males will form coalitions. When they make a kill, they have to eat quickly before hyenas, Homotheres, Smilodons, or wolves come along to take their kill. Cheetahs are built for speed, not combat, so they will give up their kills to larger carnivores.