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The cheetah or cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) é the fastest land animal, when we consider the top speed.
It reaches 100-115 km/h and is able to maintain them during a short run, from 400 to 500 meters, in which it hunts its prey. But there is something even more important than top speed in the case of a cheetah is its acceleration. How do cheetahs manage to surpass 100 km/h in just 3 seconds?
Discover this and more in this PeritoAnimal article about how fast can a cheetah go.
Different from other cats
When we analyze the differences between cheetah and leopard, their morphological differences, it is understood that the cheetah is perfectly adapted for racing, on soils that could be slippery and that, in addition to having a more aerodynamic body than other cats, it has the ability to not lose acceleration with changes in direction. This is due to their nails, not retractable, very solid and not as sharp as other cats (except for an inner claw on the hind legs).
The cheetah's claws even penetrate the ground during sudden changes of direction and give the cheetah the ability to be too. the land animal with the greatest acceleration and deceleration.
As a result, a cheetah often does not need to reach its maximum speed to catch prey, as it can do so at speeds of around 60 km/h, bearing in mind that its stride is capable of increasing its speed by 10 km/h and the power during acceleration of a cheetah can reach 120 watts per kg, double a greyhound. As a curiosity, Usain Bolt's power record stands at 25 watts per kg.
Surprising even for zoologists
The scientific community has not noticed the incredible values of cheetah power and acceleration until 2013, despite the particular characteristics of the claws of cheetahs having been the object of study in the 70s.
These values, together with the ability to zigzag, accelerating or decelerating as it suits you, show that the cheetah is even more surprising and intelligent, as it adapts to the characteristics of its prey's floor, trying to spend as little energy as possible.
It is important to mention that the cheetah hunting system requires a high energy consumption for each attempt and that it does not have the power to shoot down its lion, tiger or leopard prey. He must attack when it has many chances of success.
Shortly before this discovery, another research team found that the distribution of different types of muscle fibers in the cheetah differs both from that of other cats and the distribution of canids.
