Details
Acinonyx jubatus
The fastest land animal, a slender, long-legged cat built for the sprint. It specializes in short, explosive high-speed chases, accelerating in just a few seconds to run down its prey.
Map: Ecoregions 2017 © RESOLVE (CC BY 4.0) · Natural Earth (PD)
It ranges across the savannas, grasslands and semi-deserts of Africa, favouring open country with good visibility, abundant prey and few large predators such as lions. Once found from Arabia to India, only a tiny relict population now survives in Asia, in central Iran.
Measuring 110-150 cm in body length and weighing roughly 21-72 kg, it has a lean frame, long legs and a small head. The tawny coat is dotted with numerous black spots, and dark tear-like streaks run from the eyes to the mouth. Its claws are only semi-retractable, gripping the ground like spikes for traction.
Over short distances it can reach around 100 km/h, accelerating in seconds, but it tires quickly and most chases are over within half a minute. It lives largely alone, though females travel with cubs and related males may form small coalitions.
A carnivore, it preys mainly on small to medium ungulates such as gazelles, impala and springbok. It stalks prey in the open before launching a high-speed pursuit, tripping the animal with its sharp dewclaw and securing a suffocating bite to the throat.
After a gestation of about three months the female bears a litter of usually two to four cubs, occasionally up to six. Cubs are weaned at four to six months and stay with their mother for around a year and a half to learn to hunt, though cub mortality before independence is very high, mostly from lions and hyenas.
Habitat loss, conflict with people over livestock and poaching continue to reduce its numbers, leaving the range badly fragmented. Cheetahs were tamed and trained for hunting in ancient Egypt and in India.
