🐆 Cheetah vs Ruby-throated hummingbird 🐦
The cheetah is about 25 times as long as the ruby-throated hummingbird. They are about the same. The cheetah weighs about 15,000 times as much as the ruby-throated hummingbird.
| Row | 🐆 Cheetah | 🐦 Ruby-throated hummingbird |
|---|---|---|
| Top speed They are about the same. | 60 to 70 mph96 to 112 km/h1 | 60 mph97 km/h2 |
| Weight The cheetah weighs about 15,000 times as much as the ruby-throated hummingbird. | 75 to 141 lb34 to 64 kg1 | 0.11 to 0.12 oz3 to 3.5 g3 |
| Lives The cheetah lives a bit longer than the ruby-throated hummingbird. | 8 to 10 years8 to 10 years1 | 5 to 9 years5 to 9 years4 |
| Eats The cheetah eats meat; the ruby-throated hummingbird eats plants and animals. | antelopes such as gazelles and impalas, and hares | nectar from flowers, and tiny insects |
| Lives in They live in different kinds of places, so they would hardly ever meet. | the grasslands of eastern and southern Africa, and a few in Iran | eastern North America in summer; Mexico and Central America in winter |
Which one? Cheetah or ruby-throated hummingbird
🏁 Who would win the race?
The cheetah gets to the tree first. Over a short dash it is about the same as fast as the ruby-throated hummingbird. It isn't quite fair: the cheetah is running and the ruby-throated hummingbird is diving through the air. 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/cheetah-vs-hummingbird
Where these numbers come from
- Smithsonian's National Zoo, Cheetah, checked 30 October 2026.
- National Park Service, Northeast Temperate Network, checked 30 October 2026.
- US Fish and Wildlife Service, checked 30 October 2026.
- US Fish and Wildlife Service, checked 30 October 2026.