Cheetah

A cheetah is built like a race car: lightweight body, long legs, a bendy spine that works like a spring, and a long tail it uses to steer at top speed. But sprints are exhausting — after a chase a cheetah needs a long rest to cool down.

Cheetahs live on the open grasslands and plains of Africa, with a tiny, separate group hanging on in Iran. Everything about a cheetah is built for speed: a small head, a deep chest with big lungs, long thin legs, a flexible spine that bends and springs with each stride, and a long tail that swings out to steer through a turn. Its claws only partly pull in, so they grip the ground like running spikes. The black tear marks running from its eyes to its mouth cut the glare of the sun, the same way athletes wear dark smudges under their eyes.

Cheetahs hunt in daylight, when the lions and hyenas that steal their food are resting. A cheetah creeps as close as it can to a gazelle or a hare, then explodes into a sprint that can reach 70 mph — but only for about 20 to 30 seconds. If the chase lasts longer than that, the cheetah overheats and has to give up. After a successful hunt it needs a long rest to cool down before it can even eat, and it eats fast, because bigger predators often arrive to take the meal away.

A mother cheetah raises her cubs alone and moves them from hiding place to hiding place to keep them safe from lions and hyenas. Cubs are born with a fluffy grey mantle of fur along their backs that fades as they grow. They stay with their mother for well over a year, learning to hunt by chasing prey she has caught and released. Brothers often stay together for life in a small group, while sisters go off on their own. Cheetahs are listed as vulnerable — they need huge open spaces, and those spaces are shrinking.

Here is every cheetah fact from this page and the cheetah quiz in one list — handy for a school project or a car-ride quiz.

1. Cheetahs can hit 70 mph, but only for about 20–30 seconds.
2. Cheetahs can't roar — they chirp like birds and purr like house cats.
3. The black "tear marks" under a cheetah's eyes help cut the sun's glare, like an athlete's eye black.
4. A cheetah's tail works like a boat rudder for super-sharp turns.
5. At full speed a cheetah covers about 22 feet in one stride.
6. Cheetah cubs chirp to call their mom across the grass.
7. Wide open space gives a cheetah room to reach full speed.
8. Better vision in bright light helps the cheetah spot prey far away.
9. A cheetah's speed lets it catch prey that other cats can't.

❓ Common questions about cheetahs

No — cheetahs are wild animals that belong in the wild, and keeping one would be unsafe and almost always illegal. But if cheetahs are your favorite, here's the closest pet you actually can welcome home:

Meet the CatBecause cheetahs are wild cats built for speed, and a house cat shares much of their feline nature. See care guide →

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