🦅 Bald eagle vs Cheetah 🐆
The cheetah is about twice as long as the bald eagle. The cheetah is about one and a half times as fast as the bald eagle. The cheetah weighs about 10 times as much as the bald eagle.
| Row | 🦅 Bald eagle | 🐆 Cheetah |
|---|---|---|
| Top speed The cheetah is about one and a half times as fast as the bald eagle. | 35 to 40 mph56 to 64 km/h1 | 60 to 70 mph96 to 112 km/h2 |
| Weight The cheetah weighs about 10 times as much as the bald eagle. | 7 to 14 lb3.2 to 6.4 kg3 | 75 to 141 lb34 to 64 kg2 |
| Lives The bald eagle usually lives about twice as long as the cheetah. | 20 years20 years4 | 8 to 10 years8 to 10 years2 |
| Eats The bald eagle eats fish; the cheetah eats meat. | mostly fish, plus ducks and dead animals | antelopes such as gazelles and impalas, and hares |
| Lives in They live in different kinds of places, so they would hardly ever meet. | near lakes, rivers and coasts across North America | the grasslands of eastern and southern Africa, and a few in Iran |
Which one? Bald eagle or cheetah
🏁 Who would win the race?
The cheetah gets to the tree first. Over a short dash it is about one and a half times as fast as the bald eagle. It isn't quite fair: the bald eagle is flying and the cheetah is running. But a cheetah can only keep up its top speed for a short dash.
We only race. Real animals mostly avoid each other. A race is the only fair contest: who reaches the tree first, by top speed.
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The link carries only the two animals’ names: peabody.kids/animals/compare/bald-eagle-vs-cheetah
Where these numbers come from
- National Park Service, Upper Delaware, checked 30 October 2026.
- Smithsonian's National Zoo, Cheetah, checked 30 October 2026.
- National Park Service, Kenai Fjords, checked 30 October 2026.
- National Park Service (North American bald eagle), checked 30 October 2026.