The various positions a cheetah goes through in a single stride
The various positions a cheetah goes through in a single stride
Predator Conservation Trust: Cheetah information
SPEED
Cheetahs can reach top speeds of between 100 and 120 km/hour. This has been
accurately measured on a grey hound race track. Although Cheetah have
incredible speed and acceleration, they are only able to maintain these speeds
for short periods before they have to stop to rest and to cool down. When
running at full speed, the Cheetah covers 7-8 meters in just one stride, and
takes four strides per second. The Cheetah does not just have a high top
speed - it also has incredible acceleration, and can accelerate from zero to
80km per hour (50 miles per hour) in just 3 seconds. The downside to the
Cheetahs speed is that it is not as strong as other predators such as a Leopard
as additional muscle mass would add to the Cheetahs weight and slow it down.
The diagram above illustrates a number of different positions the cheetah
goes through in a single stride. The photographs below show a cheetah
running at several different points within the stride. For part of the
stride, the cheetah has no paws in contact with the ground - this can be seen
both in the diagram above, and in two of the photographs below.
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