The cheetah is the fastest land animal. In 2013, researchers in Botswana used a GPS tracking collar to record a top speed of 25.9 meters per second (58 miles per hour, or 93 kilometers per hour) for a wild cheetah (as of November 2026).

The Botswana team built its own tracking collar with a GPS and motion sensors, and it recorded 367 hunting runs by five wild cheetahs. The five cheetahs lived in Botswana's Okavango Delta. Most of the hunts involved only moderate speeds, and National Geographic's report calls their acceleration and athleticism, rather than top speed, the true key to hunting success.

A cheetah can speed up from zero to 45 miles per hour (72 kilometers per hour) in just 2.5 seconds, according to the National Zoo. Pound for pound, a cheetah's acceleration power is about four times that of Usain Bolt, the sprinter, in his world-record 100 meters.

A cheetah's spine is very flexible, which helps it take long strides, and at top speed a cheetah takes four strides every second. Each stride is about 23 feet (7 meters) long.

A cheetah's claws work like cleats and help it grip the ground when it runs. Its tail is 26 to 33 inches (66 to 84 centimeters) long. The long tail helps it steer and balance during sharp turns.

Cheetahs hunt by sight, and a cheetah usually creeps to within about 100 yards (91 meters) of a gazelle or other prey before it speeds up. Cheetahs eat small antelope such as springbok, impala and gazelles.

A cheetah is covered in black spots, and each cheetah has its own pattern of spots, like a fingerprint. A black line, called a tear mark, runs from each eye down to its mouth. A cheetah's spots may help it hide, and the dark tear marks under its eyes may cut down the glare of the sun.

According to the San Diego Zoo, a cheetah mother gives birth to three to five cubs, and sometimes as many as eight in one litter. Female cheetahs raise their cubs on their own and meet adult males only to breed. Cubs are strong enough to follow their mother on a hunt by the time they are six weeks old.

The Asiatic cheetah was once found from Israel to India and as far north as the Caspian Sea, and the Asiatic cheetah is a cheetah subspecies. As of November 2026, it survives only in Iran and is critically endangered.

Cheetahs live on grasslands and open plains, and most cheetahs live in Africa. As of November 2026, cheetahs are found in 23 African countries and two Asian countries, according to Panthera.

Words to know

• collar: neck band
• acceleration: speeding up
• stride: one long step
• litter: cubs born together
• subspecies: cheetah type