🐆 Cheetah vs Ostrich 🐦
The ostrich is a bit bigger than the cheetah. The cheetah is about one and a half times as fast as the ostrich. The ostrich weighs about twice as much as the cheetah.
| Row | 🐆 Cheetah | 🐦 Ostrich |
|---|---|---|
| Top speed The cheetah is about one and a half times as fast as the ostrich. | 60 to 70 mph96 to 112 km/h1 | 43 mph69 km/h2 |
| Weight The ostrich weighs about twice as much as the cheetah. | 75 to 141 lb34 to 64 kg1 | 198 to 300 lb90 to 136 kg2 |
| Lives The ostrich usually lives about 4 times as long as the cheetah. | 8 to 10 years8 to 10 years1 | 30 to 40 years30 to 40 years2 |
| Eats The cheetah eats meat; the ostrich eats plants and animals. | antelopes such as gazelles and impalas, and hares | seeds, grass, leaves, flowers and insects |
| Lives in They can live in the same kind of place. | the grasslands of eastern and southern Africa, and a few in Iran | the savannas and dry plains of Africa |
Which one? Cheetah or ostrich
🏁 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 ostrich. 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-ostrich
Where these numbers come from
- Smithsonian's National Zoo, Cheetah, checked 30 October 2026.
- Smithsonian's National Zoo, Ostrich, checked 30 October 2026.