Cheetah Facts for Kids

Acinonyx jubatus · ah-SIN-oh-nix joo-BAH-tus

The fastest runner on land, built light and long like a greyhound.

🏃 60 to 70 mph96 to 112 km/h1
⚖️ 75 to 141 lb34 to 64 kg1
📏 5.8 to 7.4 ft1.8 to 2.3 m1 long
🎂 8 to 10 years8 to 10 years1
🍽️ meat
Needs help (Vulnerable)

The cheetah is a big cat with spots. It runs faster than any other animal on land. It has black lines on its face, like tears.

A cheetah is built for speed: long legs, a light body and a bendy back that stretches with every stride. Its long tail helps it steer when it turns fast. It can only keep up its top speed for a short dash, then it has to rest.

Cheetahs hunt in the daytime, creeping close and then sprinting. Their claws only pull back partway, so they grip the ground like a runner's spikes. Unlike lions and tigers, a cheetah cannot roar; it purrs, chirps and meows. Fewer cheetahs live in the wild than in the past, because their grasslands are being turned into farms and towns.

How big is a cheetah?

🧒 our measuring child, 4 ft1.2 m🐆 Cheetah, 7 ft2 m long

Cheetah in numbers

Length	5.8 to 7.4 ft1.8 to 2.3 m1nose to tail tip: head and body 112 to 142 cm plus a tail of 66 to 84 cm
Height at the shoulder	30 in77 cm1
Weight	75 to 141 lb34 to 64 kg1
Top speed (running)	60 to 70 mph96 to 112 km/h1running
How long it lives	8 to 10 years8 to 10 years1in the wild
What it eats	antelopes such as gazelles and impalas, and hares
Where it lives	the grasslands of eastern and southern Africa, and a few in Iran
What kind	Mammals
Is it in danger?	Needs help (Vulnerable)2

A number we couldn’t find on a page we trust says so, instead of guessing.

Wow!

A cheetah can't roar. It purrs, and it makes a chirp like a bird.
The black lines from its eyes to its mouth may help cut the glare of the sun.
Its claws stay out a little, like the spikes on a runner's shoes.

Compare the cheetah

Friends and neighbours

Three questions

What does the cheetah eat?

BugsTiny sea lifeMeat

The answer: Meat. It eats antelopes such as gazelles and impalas, and hares.

Where does the cheetah live?

BackyardRainforestSavanna

The answer: Savanna. It lives in the grasslands of eastern and southern Africa, and a few in Iran.

Which is longer, the cheetah or the blue whale?

The cheetahThey're the sameThe blue whale

The answer: The blue whale. Look at them side by side on the compare stage.

Books about the cheetah, free at the library

Ask a grown-up to tap the button: it shows where to borrow a book about the cheetah for free.

Where these numbers come from

Smithsonian's National Zoo, Cheetah, checked 30 October 2026.
Wikidata, from the IUCN Red List, checked 30 October 2026.
Wikidata, Cheetah (Q23907), checked 30 October 2026.