Cheetah
Acinonyx jubatus
A slim spotted cat of African grasslands, built for speed, that can sprint 60 to 70 miles per hour.
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About the Cheetah
The cheetah is built for speed. It can go from standing still to 45 miles per hour in just 2.5 seconds and reach a top speed of 60 to 70 miles per hour. Cheetahs live in grasslands and savannas, mostly in eastern and southern Africa, and hunt small antelope such as gazelles and impalas. A cheetah's claws work like the cleats on a sports shoe, gripping the ground as it runs. It also has black "tear marks" on its face.[1][2]
Quick facts
- Scientific name
- Acinonyx jubatus[1]
- Size
- About 30 inches (77 cm) tall at the shoulder. Body 44 to 56 inches (112 to 142 cm) long, plus a 26 to 33 inch (66 to 84 cm) tail.[1]
- Weight
- 75 to 140 pounds (34 to 64 kg).[1]
- Lifespan
- 8 to 10 years in the wild. 12 to 15 years in human care.[1]
- Diet
- Carnivore. Hunts small antelope such as springbok, steenbok, duikers, impala and gazelles, plus the young of larger animals.[1]
- Habitat
- Grasslands, savannas, dense vegetation and mountains.[1]
- Where it lives
- Parts of North Africa, the Sahel, and eastern and southern Africa, with a small population in Iran. Most common in Kenya, Tanzania, Namibia and Botswana.[1]
- Group life
- Adult females live alone. Young males often stay together for life in a group called a coalition, usually two or three brothers.[1]
- Babies
- Pregnancy lasts about three months. A litter has three to six cubs.[1]
- Conservation status
- Vulnerable (IUCN Red List, assessed 2021).[3]
Fun facts
- A cheetah can go from 0 to 45 miles per hour (72 km/h) in just 2.5 seconds.[1]
- At full speed a cheetah covers 23 feet (7 m) in a single stride and takes about four strides every second.[1]
- Cheetahs cannot roar. Instead they purr, growl, hiss and make a bird-like chirp.[2]
- Cheetah cubs have a strip of long, silver fur down their backs called a mantle. It disappears as they grow up.[2]
- About 7,000 cheetahs live in the wild today, down from as many as 100,000 about 100 years ago.[2]
Vocabulary
- coalition
- A small group of male cheetahs, usually brothers, that live and hunt together.
- malar stripe
- The black "tear mark" line that runs from a cheetah's eye to its mouth.
- stride
- The distance covered in one full step while running.
- acceleration
- How quickly something speeds up.
- vulnerable
- A conservation label meaning a species faces a high risk of dying out in the wild.
See it in person
- Montgomery ZooMontgomery, Alabama · AfricaSee this area on the zoo's website ↗
Sources
- [1] Smithsonian's National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute. “Cheetah.” https://nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/cheetah (accessed 2026-10-02)
- [2] San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance. “Cheetah.” https://animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/cheetah (accessed 2026-10-02)
- [3] IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. “Acinonyx jubatus (Cheetah).” https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/219/259025524 (accessed 2026-10-02)
Facts last checked 2026-10-02.
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