20 Facts About Cheetahs

1. Cheetahs are the fastest land animal on Earth. They can only go very fast for a short amount of time. Sarah the Cheetah holds the world record for the fastest recorded speed. She ran 100 meters in 6.13 seconds. Talk about female empowerment.

2. Cheetahs use their tail like a rudder on a boat when they run. It’s long, strong, and helps them turn on the fly. The balance a cheetah needs to turn quickly can only be done with the help of their tail.

3. Cheetahs and football players have two things in common. They both tackle their enemies and they both have black markings under their eyes. Football players paint on these markings to keep the sun out of their eyes, but cheetahs have it naturally in their fur. The black color attracts the sun and limits the exposure to their eyes so they can have better visuals hunting.

4. Cheetahs don’t retract their claws when they run. They use them like cleats to grab onto the ground and propel them forwards. They’d be quite the athlete on any sports field.

5. Cheetahs are carnivorous hunters. They roam the plains of Africa in search of prey. Their main meals include warthogs, gazelles, rabbits, springboks, and birds. The prey can usually get away if they’re running a long distance.

6. Female cheetahs give birth surrounded by tall vegetation. They will have two to eight cubs per pregnancy. They hide their cubs among the grass to protect them from predators. After 16 to 24 months, the cubs can leave on their own.

7. Adult male cheetahs will live in groups to help each other hunt. Adult female cheetahs will live solo most of their lives, with the exception of raising their children, and will only find male cheetahs when they want to mate.

8. Cheetahs hunt during the day, which is different from most big cats. They do this to avoid these very predators. Since hyenas, lions, and leopards hunt at night, they prefer to remove the competition entirely. Since cheetahs are slender, they would lose in a fight with most other predators. Therefore, they hunt during the day to keep their prey to themselves.

9. Cheetahs are mostly live in sub-Saharan Africa. There are a few who live in northeastern Iran, but their numbers are dwindling. They run around in the grassy plains looking for prey and rest in the cool, long grass.

10. Cheetahs are fairly light animals. Their greatest asset is their speed, so any physical combat with other animals is almost out of the question. Cheetahs will rarely attack humans, and if they do it’s usually in captivity when they’ve been aggravated.

11. A cheetah’s spots are on their skin as well. Just like how if you shave a tiger you can still see its stripes, you can still see a cheetah’s spots below its fur. These spots help it blend into the savannah when they hunt for prey, as well as protecting them from other predators.

12. Cheetah cubs have tufts of hair on their back to make them look like a honey badger to predators. This will help them stay safe, as honey badgers are aggressive. Lions and hyenas are always on the lookout of cheetah cubs, so this tuft helps protect them.

13. Dogs help save cheetahs, despite being in place to protect their meal. Farmers will get livestock dogs to bark and scare away cheetahs, so cheetahs know to look for wild animals. If a cheetah kills livestock, they may be killed in retaliation. This way, they hunt for wild animals and everyone’s happy.

14. The cheetah’s name comes from the word, “chita.” This means, “spotted one.” No surprise here, cheetahs are covered in spots. Their name sure suits them better than any young man named Bob.

15. Cheetahs don’t like to swim. They’re similar to housecats in this way. They will swim if they’re forced to, such as if they’re running from a predator. However, they’d rather stay on grassy, dry land.

16. Cheetahs can’t roar. Unlike other big cats such as tigers, lions and leopards, cheetahs will purr. If a cat can purr, it can’t roar, and vice versa. They’re mutually exclusive. So, cheetahs are more similar to your housecat than you think.

17. It’s very difficult for a cheetah to stay alive. Despite being able to reproduce often and have many babies, they are made to run, not fight. If any predators come around, they don’t have much of a chance. Further, inbreeding causes disease and low immune systems. It’s a tough world out there for a cheetah.

18. Cheetahs will mark their territory by either peeing or rubbing their mouth against things. The saliva on their cheeks and chin has chemical information that keeps other cheetahs away. They do this to avoid conflicts with one another.

19. A cheetah has extremely light bones to allow them to run extra fast. Similar to a bird, the lighter their bones are the faster they can move. They also have oversized lungs and nasal passages to make them pure running machines.

20. A cheetah’s eyes are elongated to give them better vision. Since they hunt during the day, they rely on their binocular vision to find prey. They will use this vision to spot stragglers from the pack. Ripe for the taking.