20 fun and interesting cheetah facts
Find out more about these incredible animals!
Cheetahs are simply amazing. Not only are they beautiful and super-fast, they play a vital role in their ecosystem by helping to control the population of herbivores, which, if not controlled, can degrade the environment through over-grazing, and cause other species to struggle for food.
There are loads of incredible facts about cheetah. Did you know…?
- Cheetahs are the fastest land animals, capable of reaching speeds up to 70 mph (112 km/h).
- A cheetah can accelerate from 0 to 45 mph in just two and a half seconds.
- Cheetahs have semi-retractable claws that act like the studs or cleats of running shoes, giving them traction during high-speed chases.
- Cheetahs can only run at top speed for short bursts, usually less than a minute.
- Despite their incredible speed, cheetahs are successful in only about 40-50% of their hunts.
- A cheetah’s spine is extremely flexible, allowing it to stretch and contract during high-speed runs.
- A cheetah’s heart, lungs, and nasal passages are all enlarged to support their high-speed running.
- Unlike other big cats, cheetahs cannot roar. Instead, they make a variety of chirps, purrs, and high-pitched calls.
- A cheetah’s spots are as unique as human fingerprints – no two cheetahs have the same pattern.
- Cheetahs have distinctive “tear lines” that run from the inner corners of their eyes down to their mouths, which may help reduce glare from the sun.
- Adult cheetahs typically weigh between 75 and 140 pounds (34-64 kg).
- Cheetahs have a unique social structure among big cats. Males often form coalitions, while females are typically solitary except during the 18-month period for raising cubs.
- A cheetah’s tail acts as a rudder during high-speed chases, helping them make sharp turns.
- Cheetah cubs have a distinctive silvery-grey mantle (ridge of fur) down their backs. It is thought that this mimics honey badgers, which are famously aggressive and may protect the cheetah cubs against predation.
- Cheetahs are diurnal, meaning they’re active during the day, unlike many other big cats.
- Unlike most cats, cheetahs are not good climbers and rarely climb trees.
- Cheetahs have excellent eyesight during the day but cannot see so well at night.
- Cheetahs have a gestation period of about 3 months, one of the shortest among big cats.
- According to the IUCN, cheetahs are considered Vulnerable to extinction, with only about 6,500 mature individual cheetahs left in the wild, when last assessed in 2021.
- Cheetah taxonomy is still being worked out. Previously 5 sub-species of cheetah were thought to exist, but recent genetic analysis suggests there may only be 4 subspecies:
– Acinonyx jubatus venaticus – distributed across southwest Asia and India
– Acinonyx jubatus jubatus – distributed across southern and eastern Africa (combining two sub-species previously recognised)
– Acinonyx jubatus hecki – distributed across West and north Africa
– Acinonyx jubatus soemmerringi – distributed across northeastern AfricaHowever, some experts think the classification of cheetah sub-species may change again if further genetic analysis was undertaken using more museum specimens.
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