What’s faster: greyhound or cheetah?

Cheetah versus greyhound speed

The question asks if the top speed of the greyhound is faster than that of the cheetah or vice versa. Therefore, I’m not going to go into a long discussion about the endurance and acceleration of these two animals (but see below). I’m simply going to set down for the record what I think …

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Infographic on cheetah description

cheetah description

This is a free-to-use infographic describing the cheetah. It has to be very compact but the salient points are made. The cheetah is almost entirely built for speed. It is the way the cat has evolved. It’s talent and ability to catch prey is built around speed at up to around 70 mph (max) …

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Cheetah description – its whole body is designed for speed

Cheetah description

The cheetah is built for high speed over short distances. It is similar in size to the leopard but much slimmer and rangier. The cheetah has a deep chest and lanky legs. The tail is long for balance but about one half the body and head length. The background colour varies from “tawny to grayish-white to bright …

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4 legs are better than 2 legs when it comes to speed

Galloping cat

The reason why the relatively diminutive domestic cat can run as fast as the fastest human i.e. almost 30 mph (45 km/h) is because they have four legs. They can gallop, and they can use their trunk muscles to help propel them forwards. Humans use their legs primarily, which limits their top speed. Researchers …

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Are cats faster than rabbits?

Rabbit and cat

Cats are not faster than rabbits. In general terms, cats and rabbits run at a similar speed but my research indicates that the top speed of the rabbit is perhaps slightly higher than the top speed of a domestic cat. And of course, we are referring to domestic cats. Also, I have generalised with …

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When Namibian farmers avoided cheetah ‘hubs’ they reduced livestock losses by 86%

Cheetah hangout - cheetah hub

NEWS AND COMMENT: This is a common sense and effective approach to substantially reducing the problem of cheetahs killing livestock in Namibia. It’s the first time I’ve seen this approach taken. Conflict between predators like the cheetah and farmers is a constant problem in Africa and it leads to the death of the predator because the farmers retaliate to protect their livestock so they poison or kill the cheetah in anyway they can. It’s about protecting their livelihood, so we can understand the attitude.

Cheetah hangout - cheetah hub
Cheetah hangout – cheetah hub. Camera trap photograph: Leibniz-IZW Cheetah Research Project via Associated Press

A study published on December 7, 2020 called Communication hubs of an asocial cat are the source of a human-carnival conflict and a carnivore conflict and key to its solution has reported that if farmers know where cheetahs congregate in what the researchers describe as “hubs” they can avoid them and farm their livestock elsewhere. When this happens the cheetahs prey on animals other than livestock and they found that livestock losses were reduced by 86%. It is a brilliant result.

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Some interesting facts about cheetahs

Cheetah claws

I have focused on speed and been selective in presenting these cheetah facts. There are many pages about the cheetah on this site. Please use the custom search tool. Name The cheetah derives its name from the Hindu word chita which means “spotted or sprinkled”. The scientific name of the cheetah, Acinonyx, is thought …

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