🐆 Cheetah vs Peregrine falcon 🦅
The cheetah is about 4 times as long as the peregrine falcon. The peregrine falcon is about 3 times as fast as the cheetah. The cheetah weighs about 50 times as much as the peregrine falcon.
| Row | 🐆 Cheetah | 🦅 Peregrine falcon |
|---|---|---|
| Top speed The peregrine falcon is about 3 times as fast as the cheetah. | 60 to 70 mph96 to 112 km/h1 | 200 mph322 km/h2 |
| Weight The cheetah weighs about 50 times as much as the peregrine falcon. | 75 to 141 lb34 to 64 kg1 | 1.1 to 3.1 lb500 g to 1.4 kg3 |
| Lives The peregrine falcon usually lives about twice as long as the cheetah. | 8 to 10 years8 to 10 years1 | 20 years20 years3 |
| Eats Both eat meat. | antelopes such as gazelles and impalas, and hares | other birds, such as pigeons and ducks |
| 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 | every continent except Antarctica, on cliffs, coasts and tall city buildings |
Which one? Cheetah or peregrine falcon
🏁 Who would win the race?
The peregrine falcon gets to the tree first. Over a short dash it is about 3 times as fast as the cheetah. It isn't quite fair: the cheetah is running and the peregrine falcon is diving through the air.
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-peregrine-falcon
Where these numbers come from
- Smithsonian's National Zoo, Cheetah, checked 30 October 2026.
- National Park Service, Denali and Yukon-Charley Rivers, checked 30 October 2026.
- USDA Forest Service, Fire Effects Information System, checked 30 October 2026.