Cheetah Facts for Big Cat Lovers

Cheetahs are incredible animals and they are known throughout the world for having attributes that make them special from all other cats. While many people can see cheetahs at their local zoos, there is no comparison to seeing live cheetahs in the wild. They are truly fantastic and deserve much observation. Whether you are fascinated with cheetahs or are not that familiar with them, there are plenty of amazing cheetah facts abound, here are just a few of them.

The Incredible Speed of the Cheetah
One of the most well known cheetah fact is the speed that a cheetah can reach in the wild when pursuing prey. Cheetah’s are exceptional hunters and rely on their speed to catch their prey. Throughout the millennia, the cheetah has evolved special features that make this big cat reach incredible speeds that have only recently been attainable with the fastest exotic cars. For instance, it is a well known cheetah fact that this cat can reach speeds between 70 and 75 miles per hour. These speeds are only attainable in bursts, since it requires too much energy to keep this speed stable. It should also be noted that besides a top speed of the cheetah (the world’s fastest for a mammal), it is a cheetah fact that these big cats can also accelerate faster than any other land animal as well. Cheetahs can usually accelerate to about 45 miles per hour in less than 3 steps. In addition, their top speed of 70 to 75 miles per hour usually comes in at less than 3 seconds- even today’s top cars have difficulty approaching these speeds.

The Cheetah is Built for Speed
Besides reaching top speeds in the 70 mph range, it should also be noted that in order to accomplish this task, evolution has helped the cheetah with specific modifications and features to its body. For instance, it is a cheetah fact that cheetahs are very slim, have large nostrils, large lungs and a large heart. All of these features are to intake large amounts of oxygen and burn this energy very efficiently. Besides these features, most male and female cheetahs have the same body profile- giving both a speed advantage. Other features which are important include the cheetah fact that when a cheetah is in hot pursuit, its claws retract into its paws so that there is no interference or unnecessary friction while it runs.

To read more about cheetah facts, please visit Smithsonian Magazine’s main website at: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/

Cheetah Facts, Glacier National Park, Daredevil, Forbidden City, Cleopatra, Black Holes