Cool Cheetah Facts Cheetahs are the fastest in the big cat family. They can change direction very quickly when they’re running. This big cat can run up to seventy miles per hour and three strides per second – as fast

as a car on a highway. They are one of the oldest members of the cat family. Cheetah means spotted one. The cheetah’s spots are smaller and rounder than Jaguars and Leopards.

Biology This big cat is very different from other cats-it is a special type of cat made for speed. They carry very little weight in their body. Cheetahs are about the same length as leopards This big cat is four feet long. They are taller at their shoulders than leopards and thinner. Cheetahs almost have no body fat. This big cat weighs 86 pounds. Their muscles are long and lean to give them power. A cheetah’s head and neck are smaller and lighter than other big cats. Their spine is very flexible and very loose joints in leg and hip bones. A cheetah can stretch its legs to a twenty-foot stride when running. This big cat has a long bone extension in the spine that attaches to extra muscles. Their claws can’t retract. Cheetahs have smaller teeth than other big cats. They have long tails for turning. A cheetah has a small heart. A cheetah has a large nasal passage that allows it to breathe more oxygen and run

faster.

How they hunt

They hide in grass when hunting. A cheetah marks his territory. They can sprint for three hundred to six hundred yards. A cheetah looks for prey on rocks, low branches, and even a hood of a safari van. When it spots its prey it crouches low. Cheetahs chase the slowest animal in the herd. They drag the kill in a hidden place. A cheetah keeps look for hyenas and lion. When killing a kill, it bites it throat. They are the most successful killers than other big cats. They eat quickly and they eat a third of their body weight.

Diet A cheetah is meat eater.

It preys on blackbuck.

The cheetah’s favorite animal to prey on is the Thomson’s gazelle.

They eat game birds, aardvarks, jackals, and rats when hungry.

Cheetahs eat giraffes, zebras, and wildebeests.

HabitatThey live in grasslands.

Cheetahs also live in semi deserts too.

A cheetah lives in cracks in rocks.