Nature’s Sports Car – The Majestic Cheetah -by David Rives

Which Mammal Accelerates Faster Than a Sports Car?

The fastest land animal in the world makes its home on the savannahs in Africa alongside elephants, hippos, and rhinos. A very small population of a sub-species also lives in eastern Iran. That mammal, of course, is the cheetah.

This big cat is famous for its speed. While hunting it can reach top speeds of 45 to 70 miles per hour in just three seconds. Even though they’re the fastest, their prey is often able to escape because antelope and gazelle can change direction very quickly and have greater stamina than a cheetah’s short bursts.

Cheetah’s always look like they’re crying but that dark tear mark, called a malar stripe, serves a useful purpose.

It attracts sunlight and keeps the sun’s glare out of the cheetah’s eyes. Their long tail serves as a rudder and their semi-non-retractable claws act as cleats, giving them extra grip. Everything about them is streamlined for speed.

Due to habitat loss, cheetahs, like most African mammals, are endangered with only a few thousand remaining in the wild. Cheetahs produce more offspring than other cats, but many of their babies become food for lions, hyenas, or other African predators.

As many as 90% of cheetah kittens won’t make it past three months of age due to predators and death from illnesses. Cheetahs don’t have much genetic diversity so they often have weak immune systems.

Cheetahs probably belong to the cat kind, along with lions, cougars, tigers, bobcats, house cats, and more. But researchers aren’t quite sure if they do because there isn’t good evidence of interbreeding with other cats. It could be that they belong to their own kind or that they’re members of the cat kind. More research will have to be done to figure out for sure.

The cheetah – the fastest land animal in the world can reach speeds of up to 70 miles per hour – and it doesn’t take them long to get up to speed – almost 50 miles per hour in just two seconds – unbelievable acceleration that allows them to approach their prey by stealth, and then to overtake unsuspecting animals, such as gazelles, with a burst of speed that cannot be matched. When running one stride can cover over 20 feet.

Cheetahs can be easily recognized by their unique features: a slim spotted body with a large chest and a long spotted tail. The best way to identify them is by the black tear-like streaks running from the corner of their eyes down the nose and to the mouth. It is interesting to note If that cheetahs cannot retract their claws like other large cats.

Again, unlike lions and tigers who pursue their prey at night, cheetahs are active during the daytime – hunting at dusk and at dawn.

Thankfully – Cheetahs are known to show little aggression towards humans and have been tamed for thousands of years. Inscriptions dating all the way back to the Egyptians even back to the Suandmerians depict cheetahs as royal pets, and it’s no wonder… these big cats look incredibly majestic.

We see adaptation in many creatures here in the African bush… various colorations and sizes. We also see mutations and genetic inbreeding… especially in the Cheetah, and those are not typically beneficial. But in thousands of years, Cheetahs have remained Cheetahs… a very unique animal with very unique features.

Cheetahs bear testimony to their Designer Who built them for speed and Who delights in what He has made.

I’m David Rives… Truly, The Heavens Declare the Glory of God.

To learn more about Cheetahs and other incredible animals, check out the book Marvels of Creation – Magnificent Mammals in the Creation Superstore today.