Collars, Cameras and Cheetah DNA: teacher key

Cheetahs, grade 9 edition, written for 9th grade. Scientists follow cheetahs with GPS collars, camera traps and droppings. Read what they have found, from Botswana to Namibia.

Read the book. Print this page for the key.

Questions and answers

1. How many cheetahs did Namibian researchers fit with GPS collars?
   • 16
   • 164 (answer)
   • 1,640
2. What is a coalition of male cheetahs?
   • Two to three littermates that stay together (answer)
   • A single wandering male
   • A mother and her cubs
3. How long does a mother cheetah carry her cubs before they are born?
   • 30 to 35 days
   • 90 to 95 days (answer)
   • 200 days
4. What can researchers learn from a cheetah's scat?
   • Which cheetah left it, what it ate and its health (answer)
   • Only its color
   • Only its age in years
5. What does the word territory mean here?
   • A kind of call
   • A small cub
   • An area a cheetah claims (answer)

Words

• collar: neck band
• coalition: male cheetah group
• territory: claimed area
• scat: animal droppings
• weaned: no longer nursing