Accelerating from 0 to 96 km/h (60 mph) in three seconds, the cheetah is the world’s fastest land mammal.
They inhabit the grasslands of eastern, central, and southwestern Africa, as well as a small portion of Iran.
Cheetahs are large cats, but they are not considered big cats, like lions or tigers, because they cannot roar.
Although they can climb trees, they’re not very good climbers.
How Do Cheetahs Run So Fast?
Cheetahs have several special adaptations that allow them to reach top speeds. Wide nostrils and large lungs combined with a powerful heart and strong arteries provide more oxygen to their muscles.
Their huge leg muscles mainly consist of fast twitch fibers, which contract faster than normal muscles. Their small body frame is lightweight and aerodynamic.
With long legs, loose hip and shoulder joints, and a flexible spine, cheetahs can cover 7 m (20-25 ft.) in one stride.
Their claws, which do not fully retract, grip the ground like cleats.
Running this quickly takes a lot of energy, and cheetahs can only maintain the sprint for about half a minute before burning out. With this limiting factor, they try to get as close as possible to their prey before starting the chase.
What’s the Difference Between Cheetahs and Leopards?
Although sometimes confused with leopards, cheetahs are distinguished by their “tear-stained” black marks that run from the corners of their eyes down the side of their nose to their mouth.
Their smaller stature and small, flat heads also set them apart.
[Learn more in our article, Spot the Difference: Cheetah, Jaguar or Leopard.]
What Cheetahs Eat
Cheetahs hunt antelope, wildebeest calves, and hares.
How Cheetahs Hunt
Camouflaged against the tall grasses, cheetahs quietly sneak up until they are confident of the attack. They burst out, using their tail as a rudder to help keep balance while making sharp turns.
Once they reach their target, they use their front paw to trip the prey. Then they strangle the animal with a bite and drag it to a hiding spot before another predator, such as a lion, leopard, or hyena, steals it.
Unlike most cats, cheetahs have terrible night vision, which is why they hunt during the day.
Cheetah Reproduction
Female cheetahs give birth to around 3 cubs at a time.
In the first few weeks, she moves the cubs from den to den, hiding them while she goes out hunting. At this point, they are very vulnerable to predators such as large eagles, lions, hyenas, and baboons.
Young cubs grow a thick yellow-gray coat on their backs called a mantle. The mantle protects the cub from the sun and rain and helps camouflage it in the shadows.
It also makes the cub resemble a honey badger, which is a small feisty carnivore that most predators leave alone.
The mantle starts disappearing when the cub is around three months old and thins to a mane at around two years.
Despite these protections, cub mortality rate is high, at around 90%. The cubs that survive start following their mother at around 6 weeks. They practice hunting though play with each other.
After a year and a half, their mother leaves them to breed again. The cubs stay together until the females reach sexual maturity at around two years.
At that point, other male cheetahs chase the male cubs off. But the male offspring often stay together for life, forming a group called a coalition. Coalitions are beneficial because they help male cheetahs gain territory.
Conservation Status
Today, around 7,500 cheetahs live in the wild, with about 100 living in small isolated populations in Iran. Cheetahs are threatened by habitat loss and conflicts with farmers.
With low genetic diversity, the IUCN Red List considers them vulnerable of extinction.
Photo by GP232 / iStock.com.
What You Can Do to Help
If you would like to help cheetahs, you can support organizations like the Cheetah Conservation Fund through donations or volunteer work.
Cheetah Range
Cheetahs inhabit the grasslands of eastern, central and southwestern Africa as well as a small portion of Iran.
Cheetah Resources
- Cheetah Conservation Fund
- “Speed Sensation” BBC Video Clip
- BBC’s Big Cat Live Cheetah Page
- National Geographic’s Cheetah Page
- Defenders of Wildlife’s Cheetah Page
Quick Fact Sheet
Common Name(s): Cheetah
Scientific Name: Acinonyx jubatus
Animal Type: mammal
Size: 1.1-1.4 m (3.7-4.6 ft.) long; Tail: 60-85 cm (2-2.7 ft.)
Weight: 34-57 kg (75-125 lb.)
Lifespan: 8-12 years
Conservation Status: Vulnerable
About the Author
Abi Cushman is a contributing editor of Animal Fact Guide and My House Rabbit. When she's not writing about weird animal facts, Abi writes and illustrates funny books for kids. Her picture books, Soaked! and Animals Go Vroom!, are available now from Viking Children's Books.
To learn more and to download free activity sheets, visit www.abicushman.com. Follow her on Instagram at @Abi.Cushman.
