Chapter 1 SEEING SPOTS From the top of a termite mound the cheetah spots an impala Before the impala even realizes it is being chased the cheetah is right behind it The African grasslands are a blur as the prey tries to outrun its hunter Running at her top speed the cheetah is almost out of energy But she has cubs to feed and the impala is tiring too The cheetah holds on and wins the race
At first glance cheetahs look a lot like leopards Both of these big cats have yellowish tan bodies and black spots But cheetahs are much slimmer than leopards Cheetahs also have black stripes that look like tear marks running from the corners of their eyes These marks help reduce some of the glare from the sun Big Cat Fact No two cheetahs have the same spot design
Another way to identify a cheetah is by looking at its tail All cheetahs have several black rings near the ends of their tails The very end of the tail has a white tuft of fur Cheetah Timeline 4 million years ago The earliest known cheetahs lived About 10 000 years ago Cheetahs disappeared from North America About 3000 BC The ancient Sumerians became the first people to tame cheetahs About 1322 BC Artifacts with cheetah designs were buried in King Tutankhamen's tomb in Egypt AD 1300s to 1500s European princes and other nobles hunted with trained cheetahs AD 1556 to 1605 Akbar the Great of India owned more than 9 000 cheetahs during his reign
prey an animal hunted by another animal for food BUILT FOR SPEED Perhaps the only thing more amazing than the cheetah's beauty is its speed The cheetah is the fastest mammal in the world It can reach speeds of 60 miles 96 kilometers an hour in just three seconds But it can't keep up this extreme pace for long It usually runs at top speed for about 300 yards 274 meters Running this fast uses a lot of energy and the cheetah tires quickly The cheetah was built for speed Its body is long and narrow A cheetah stands about 36 inches 91 centimeters tall at the shoulder It weighs about 75 pounds 34 kilograms It has a small head for an animal of its size These traits create less wind resistance when the cheetah runs
