Cheetah facts: speed, hunting, range and conservation status

How fast is a cheetah?

The IUCN Cat Specialist Group gives speeds of up to about 103 km/h during a chase. The best measured wild data come from a 2013 study in Botswana that fitted five cheetahs with GPS and motion sensor collars: the fastest of 367 runs reached 25.9 m/s (93 km/h, 58 mph), but most hunts used only moderate speeds, and acceleration, braking and sharp turns mattered as much as top speed. Chases seldom cover more than about 300 m. Our post how fast is a cheetah goes into the details.

What makes a cheetah so fast?

• Long legs, big thigh muscles and a very flexible spine allow strides of up to about 7 m.
• Semi retractable claws grip the ground like running spikes.
• A long tail, about half the head and body length, helps with balance in turns.
• Enlarged lungs, heart and nasal passages help it recover after a sprint.

Cheetahs also have black "tear marks" running from the inner eye to the mouth, and solid round spots rather than rosettes.

How do cheetahs hunt?

Cheetahs usually stalk first, then sprint over a short distance and trip or knock the prey off balance before a suffocating bite to the throat. They prefer prey of about 10 to 56 kg: Thomson's gazelle on East African plains, impala in woodland, springbok and young kudu in southern Africa. Cheetahs hunt mainly by day, which helps them avoid lions and hyenas, but those larger predators still steal kills and kill cubs. Cheetahs are not obligate drinkers and can get much of their moisture from prey.

Do cheetahs live alone?

Adult females are solitary and non territorial, raising cubs alone. Males may live alone or in small coalitions, often brothers, and some hold small territories averaging around 30 km² that contain prey, water and access to females. Cheetahs cannot roar; they purr and make high pitched chirping calls.

Where do cheetahs live?

Cheetahs live in savanna, grassland, dry woodland and desert. Strongholds are in Namibia and Botswana and in Kenya and Tanzania, with very sparse populations in the Sahara. Remarkably, about two thirds of cheetahs live outside protected areas, often on farmland, partly because lions and hyenas are scarcer there. In Asia, the Asiatic cheetah survives only in Iran, where fewer than 50 mature individuals are thought to remain. In 2022 India began bringing cheetahs from southern Africa to Kuno National Park in an effort to restore the species there.

How many cheetahs are left?

A major 2017 study led by Sarah Durant estimated about 7,100 adult and adolescent cheetahs (around 6,500 mature individuals) in 33 subpopulations, occupying about 9 percent of the species' historical range. Only two subpopulations exceed 1,000 mature individuals, and most of those whose trend could be assessed are declining. Threats include habitat loss and fragmentation, conflict with livestock and game farmers, prey depletion, road deaths and the illegal trade in live cubs and skins. Cheetahs also have very low genetic diversity, the legacy of ancient population bottlenecks.

Frequently asked questions

Is a cheetah a big cat?

In the strict sense no: big cats are the roaring cats of the genus Panthera, and the cheetah belongs to its own genus, Acinonyx. In everyday use the cheetah is usually included as a big cat, as it is on this site.

Can cheetahs roar?

No. Cheetahs purr and make chirping and other calls, but they cannot roar.

What is the top speed of a cheetah?

The fastest run measured in a study of wild cheetahs was 25.9 m/s, about 93 km/h or 58 mph. The IUCN Cat Specialist Group gives up to about 103 km/h.