Reliable measurements instantaneous speed, which the fastest animals in the world can develop, not much is known to science. IN scientific literature There is evidence that cheetahs (Acinonyx Jubatus) develop the maximum speed in the animal world of 29 m/s (104 km/h), overtaking greyhounds (18 m/s) and horses (19 m/s). However, accurate measurements of the speed of cheetahs have previously been limited to the study of animals living in captivity, which were forced to run in a straight line after bait: hunting in wildlife You can’t force a predator to run in a straight line. Alan Wilson from the Royal Veterinary College (UK) decided to fill this knowledge gap.
To track the speed of predators, as well as their acceleration and daily movements, scientists have developed a special collar equipped with a GPS module, gyroscopes and an accelerometer.
The device was equipped solar panels, which charged the battery during the daytime. Biologists observed the lives of five cheetahs (three females and two males) for 17 months in the Botswana savannah. During this period, a total of 367 “runs” of cheetahs were analyzed—sharp runs that start from a state of rest or slow movement. The data obtained from the collar made it possible to find out what part of the throws ended in the capture of the victim: as a rule, in such cases, the speed and acceleration of the animal after the throw become zero.
It turned out that the average throw length of cheetahs was 173 m, although in in rare cases in pursuit of a victim, they are able to cover up to half a kilometer. Perhaps the most surprising thing for scientists was that maximum speed throws for different animals averaged only 15 m/s, half the “tabular” value, and was maintained for 1-2 seconds.
At the same time, the maximum recorded speed was only 26 m/s.
Of particular interest to the researchers was data on acceleration, that is, how quickly cats can change the vector and direction of speed. The results showed that cheetahs develop twice the acceleration of horses: in one burst they can accelerate by 3 m/s or brake sharply by 4 m/s.
It is known that in captive cheetahs the mass of muscles involved in movement (dorsal and limbs) reaches 45% of the total body weight. In wild animals this figure is higher, although it is not known exactly. Such “sharpening” of the cheetah’s body for rapid jerks and fast running makes them record holders of the animal world in one more indicator - maximum specific power (in terms of per kilogram of weight).
And if Usain Bolt, the world champion, produces 25 W/kg in the 100-meter dash, then in pursuit of an antelope the cheetahs “reduce” from one own weight four times the power - three times more than horses, and almost twice as much as greyhounds.
One of the most important factors What gives cheetahs an advantage in hunting is their ability to quickly maneuver, or, in mathematical terms, high centripetal acceleration. Observations have shown that in pursuit of prey, a cheetah is able to turn sharply, developing a centripetal acceleration of up to 13 m/s -2.
This is several times higher than the overloads experienced by astronauts when launching modern rockets.
Such lateral jerks require strong grip on the surface, which is provided by the sharp claws of predators. Observation of cheetahs hunting allowed us to notice other unusual techniques. “Cheetahs try not to develop maximum linear and centripetal acceleration at the same time. Quick stop unloads back the torso, which leads to directional instability, since the center of mass is in front of the forelimbs,” says the author of the study,
Many scientists classify this predator as a separate genus; it is also unknown exactly how many subspecies there are. Some zoologists distinguish seven species, but others recognize only two - Asian and African. Although these beauties belong to the cat family, they are in many ways similar to dogs, for example, the high speed of a cheetah is largely due to the graceful structure of the body, reminiscent of the silhouette of a greyhound.
The tracks of cheetahs are very similar to those of cats, they also love to climb trees, however, this is best done by cubs, because in adults the claws do not retract and become blunt. The claws are very large and curved, with the first toe containing the largest claw, which serves as a spear. The speed of the cheetah is so great that if it pounces on the prey and hits it with its paw, it flies head over heels for several more meters.
It should be noted that the cheetah is very peaceful. IN good mood he purrs like domestic cat. It is especially interesting to watch a whole family lying in the sun and purring at the top of their voices. The hunting instinct of cheetahs is not innate; they learn to sneak up on prey and catch it only from their mother. Cheetahs born in captivity do not know how to hunt.
These peace-loving and fearless beauties have always surprised tourists. They get used to humans very quickly, so they are quite easy to tame. A cheetah can completely freely approach a car or bus with people, jump on the hood and start looking at the passengers through the glass. Maybe even ride on top of a van for a bit.
The fastest predator - this is how one can characterize such a handsome cheetah. The speed it can reach in just two seconds is 65 km/h. A greyhound can run at a speed of 65 km/h, a racehorse - 70 km/h, but a cheetah is much higher, it is 110 km/h. Of course, he can show such a result only in a short-distance race, but still this gives the right to consider the cheetah the fastest-footed of all mammals.
Scientists have long tried to unravel the secret of this predator and find out what allows it to run so fast. The key is the special anatomy of cheetahs. The fact is that their muscles are in many ways reminiscent of the operating principle of a car. The cheetah's speed is so great thanks to its muscles, consisting of different types fibers The forelimbs contain the muscles that can work for a long time, spending little energy and without tiring the animal. It is these that the cheetah uses when walking slowly. On hind limbs there are more powerful muscles, but under load they get tired very quickly. They are used by the predator for lightning-fast running.
The speed of a cheetah largely depends on the characteristics of the skeleton. A flexible spine and long limbs do their job. When running, the animal seems to stretch in the air, its jumps reach 6 - 7 meters in length. Along the back there are special muscles that help when running, as they are able to quickly compress and unclench.
Of course, a cheetah. The cheetah is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the fastest because it reaches a maximum speed of 110-115 kilometers per hour. It doesn’t last long - only a few hundred meters.
It seems to me that it is generally unrealistic to reach a speed of 100 km/h in 3 seconds, but a cheetah is capable of this. The cheetah is the fastest animal on the planet and of course it runs faster than the leopard. At short distances, the cheetah's maximum speed reaches 120 km/h. The maximum speed of a leopard is about 60 km/h.
A leopard is a cat, albeit a very big one. And he often watches for his prey on a tree, and then jumps onto it. And therefore running is not so important for him. But a cheetah is a cat-dog. The cheetah is a desert dweller that needs to guard its prey in open space. And then, having scared it away, quickly catch up. And therefore, the specific feature of the cheetah is the ability to briefly develop a speed that is higher than that of all living creatures living next to it. That's why a cheetah runs faster than a leopard.
Cheetah is faster than leopard.
The cheetah is used to hunting antelopes and zebras, and they run just as well, so the cheetah is the fastest running predator of all. It can run at a speed of 120 km/h - like a car on the highway.
The leopard hunts more often by lying in wait for its prey in cover and runs at a speed of 60 km/h - the tiger has the same speed.
As it turned out when comparing the speed indicators of a tiger and a cheetah, the latter is capable of accelerating to 112-120 kilometers per hour, i.e. the tiger is inferior to him.
The cheetah's spotted relative, the leopard, runs approximately at the level of a tiger and can reach up to 60 km/h at a distance, i.e. runs faster CHEETAH.
Definitely, the cheetah is the fastest-footed animal from the cat family. It can reach speeds of up to 120 km/h, but at very short period time, only 30 seconds. It feeds exclusively on live prey, it does not eat carrion, so the ability to run quickly is vital for a cheetah.
The cheetah has the fastest movement speed among the cat family. thanks to strong legs, a flat skull and a muscular, flexible body. Data about this rare form animals are listed in the Guinness Book. The running speed of a cheetah can reach up to 115 km. at one o'clock. The only drawback is that cheetahs cannot maintain such speed for a long time due to the fact that they spend all their energy running. While longest jump a cheetah can reach up to 6m. Nowadays, the advantages of such a wild animal as the cheetah are used by humans for hunting by taming the animal.
As far as I know, then cheetah- This is the fastest animal. I recently read a book on this topic with my child and there is a riddle in it that says that the cheetah is a record holder in running.
If anyone is interested, here is a riddle about a cheetah.
The cheetah is a beautiful animal from the cat family. Him slender body, a small head with small ears and a rather long tail. The weight of a cheetah can reach 65 kg, body length - 140 cm, and tail - up to 80 cm. The fur is light yellow in color with small dark spots; two dark stripes are clearly visible on the head, running from the eyes down, which give the face a sad expression.
Spreading
The cheetah lives on African continent, as well as in some areas of Asia. Previously, it had a wider distribution, but due to destruction by humans, the number of cheetahs in nature has greatly decreased.
Nutrition
Like other members of the cat family, cheetahs are predators. They hunt medium and small sized animals. Most often, their victims are gazelles, hares, ostriches and some other animals. Cheetahs do not hunt from ambush, like other felines, but pursue their prey at open spaces ah, overtaking her with big leaps.
Lifestyle
Cheetahs go out in search of prey in the morning or evening, and during hot daytime hours they prefer to rest in the shade. Males live independently or unite in small groups. Having united, they hunt together and protect the territory from other males.
The female almost always hunts alone and raises the cubs herself. She usually gives birth to two to six babies. The cubs are born weak and blind. Baby cheetahs could be easy prey for predatory animals, but they manage to escape thanks to their unusual coloring. Their fur is colored almost the same as that of the honey badger, and the honey badger is a rather aggressive animal, and rarely anyone wants to mess with it. During the hunt, the female leaves her cubs in the thickets, and when returning, feeds them with milk. Babies remain close to their mother until about one and a half years old, and then begin an independent life.
In the wild, cheetahs live up to 20-25 years, and in captivity they can live much longer. This is due to the fact that in zoos cheetahs receive regular food and timely treatment.
- Cheetah is the fastest land mammal. It can reach speeds of up to 115 km/h.
- While running, the cheetah makes jumps of 6 to 8 m in length.
- The cheetah's claws do not retract completely and help it develop higher speed just like spiked shoes for athletes.
- At high speed, a cheetah chases game for no more than 400 meters. If during this segment it is not possible to overtake the prey, then the cheetah stops pursuing.
- In ancient times, cheetahs were used in princely hunts. To do this, they caught young cheetahs and taught them the wisdom of hunting.
- Cheetahs quickly get used to humans, are well tamed and amenable to training.
- Cheetahs do not attack humans.
Cheetah brief information.
An animal from the cat family with features atypical for a predator has been identified by zoologists as separate species. The cheetah is mentioned in “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign” - the history of its family is so ancient. The physiology, habits, and rare qualities of the mammal are unique. Cheetah speed running up to 112 km per hour - this is the fastest animal among mammals on earth.
Description and features
You can distinguish cheetahs from other cat species by their unique skin color, lean body, developed muscles, long legs and tail. The predator's body length is approximately 1.5 m, weight - 40-65 kg, height 60-100 cm. Small head with a shortened muzzle.
The ears are short, erect, rounded. The eyes are set high. The limbs are strong, paws with fixed claws, which distinguishes cheetahs from all others wild cats. Only cubs up to 4 months from birth can retract their claws, then they lose this ability.
The animal's fur is very short, only top part The neck is decorated with a small tuft of black hair. The cubs have a silvery mane that runs across their entire back. The color of the fur is sandy-yellow tones; dark spots are scattered throughout the entire skin, except for the belly. The size and shape of the specks vary. A characteristic feature of cheetahs are black tear marks - stripes running from the eyes to the mouth.
You can distinguish a cheetah from other spotted cats by two dark stripes on its face.
The appearance of the beast shows signs of a sprinter. While running, the cheetah's aerodynamic body serves to develop record speed. A long tail- an excellent balancer. The animal's lungs are large in volume, which facilitates intense breathing during high-speed running.
Because cheetah is the fastest animal, in the old days, eastern princes used tamed predators to hunt antelopes. Egyptian feudal lords, Central Asian khans, and Indian rajahs also kept entire “packs” of cheetahs.
They were led after the prey with caps over their eyes so that they would not give chase ahead of schedule. During the hunt, the cheetahs did not attempt to kill the captured animals until the princes approached. The sharp claws of the animals held the prey after stunning blows with their paws.
As a reward, the animals received the insides of the carcasses. Hunting cheetah was a very expensive gift. The animal does not reproduce in captivity, so only noble people could obtain a caught, tamed and trained predator.
The unusual nature of a wild animal is manifested in the fact that it is easy to tame even in mature age, respond well to training. They show the dog’s devotion to the owner and get used to the leash and collar. In zoos they quickly get used to the staff, but are highly wary of strangers.
The history of cheetahs begins before ice age, which they miraculously survived, but bear the “cross” of genetic degeneration from forced inbreeding - more than half of the cubs, up to 70%, die before one year. Keeping animals in captivity is quite difficult.
They are extremely sensitive to drafts, temperature changes, viral infections - in general, they have difficulty adapting to new environment. The natural need of animals is vast spaces and specific nutrition.
The cheetah is considered the fastest animal in the world
Unfortunately, the animal population is constantly thinning due to a reduction in areas suitable for habitation and poaching. Cheetah mammal in Red it is designated as an endangered species.
Kinds
Several centuries ago, populations of predators massively inhabited the territories of Asia and Africa. Based on 2007 research, there are fewer than 4,500 individuals left in Africa, and significantly fewer in Asia.
There are fewer and fewer animals, although they are under the protection of environmental services. IN modern classification the five remaining cheetah subspecies are included, not counting several extinct ones. One is also found in Asia, four subspecies are inhabitants.
Asiatic cheetah. The number of the subspecies is approaching a critical threshold, which is why there remains increased interest in it. No more than 60 rare animals live in sparsely populated areas of Iran. The remaining individuals are not large quantities kept in zoos different countries.
Features of the Asian subspecies are short limbs, powerful neck, thick skin. There are fewer and fewer vast territories for the fast hunter. Man oppresses the animal in its original places - savannas, semi-deserts. The number of wild ungulates that make up the predator’s food supply is declining.
Royal cheetah. The black stripes along the back make it easy to identify the African subspecies, which is called the Mutation Rex. Large dark spots merge together on the sides of the animal, giving the pattern an unusual appearance.
The strange color has caused a dispute between scientists about the place of the royal cheetah in the classification of animals. The appearance of cubs with the same outfit is associated with a recessive gene of both parents, which gives color mutations.
Cheetah in Africa It is also found in other mutational varieties that are no less interesting:
- white albinos or black melanists - the outline of the spots is barely visible;
- red cheetahs - spots of deep red color on a golden background of fur;
- light yellow color with pale reddish spots.
Dull shades of fur probably appear in the inhabitants of desert zones for camouflage - the factor of adaptation and protection from the scorching sun is at work.
European cheetah- an extinct species of animal. Fossil remains were found mostly in France. The existence of the species is confirmed by rock paintings discovered in the Shuve cave.
European look was significantly larger and more powerful than modern African cheetahs. The large body mass and developed muscles made it possible to develop a running speed much higher than that of cheetahs that have survived to this day.
Lifestyle and habitat
Previously, the Asian steppes and semi-deserts of Africa were inhabited in large numbers by cheetahs. African subspecies from Morocco to the Cape of Good Hope inhabited the continent. The Asian subspecies was distributed in India, Pakistan, Israel, and Iran. In the territory of the former Soviet republics, the cheetah was also not a rare animal. Today the predator is on the verge of extinction.
Mass extermination led to the conservation of species, mainly in Algeria, Zambia, Kenya, Angola, and Somalia. An extremely small population remains in Asia. Over the past hundred years, the number of cheetahs has decreased from 100 to 10 thousand individuals.
Predators avoid thickets and prefer open areas. Animal cheetah does not belong to school mammals, leads single image life. Even married couple is formed for a short period of time during the rut, after which it disintegrates.
Males live alone, but sometimes unite into peculiar coalitions of 2-3 individuals, within which smooth relationships are formed. Females live on their own if they are not raising offspring. Cheetahs do not have internal fights within groups.
Adults easily tolerate the proximity of other cheetahs, even purring and licking each other's faces. About the cheetah we can say that this is a peace-loving animal among its relatives.
Unlike most predators, the cheetah hunts exclusively during the day, which is explained by the way it obtains food. It goes out in search of food in the cool morning or evening, but before dusk. It is important for the cheetah to see the prey, and not to feel it, like other animals. At night, the predator hunts extremely rarely.
The cheetah will not sit in ambush for hours and look out for prey. Seeing prey, the predator quickly overtakes it. Natural maneuverability and dexterity have been inherent in animals since ancient times, when they were the rulers of open spaces.
Their habitat has developed their sprinting qualities. High running speed, long jumps of the beast, the ability to change the trajectory of movement with lightning speed to deceive the victim - run from the cheetah useless. It can be outwitted, since the predator’s strength is not enough for a long chase.
Male territory - open area, which he marks with urine or excrement. Due to the lack of claws, the cheetah does not seek out vegetation that it cannot climb. The animal can find shelter only under thorny bushes and the lush crown of a tree. The size of the male's territory depends on the amount of food, and the female's territory depends on the presence of offspring.
Natural enemies Cheetahs are lions, hyenas, leopards, which not only take away prey, but also encroach on the offspring. Cheetah predator vulnerable. Injuries received from caught victims often become disastrous for the hunters themselves, because they can only get food in excellent conditions. physical fitness. A simple-minded beast.
Nutrition
Predator prey most often includes antelopes, goitered gazelles, zebras, gazelles, impalas, mountain sheep. The cheetah does not refuse birds. On happy hunting can defeat an ostrich, a young wildebeest, and a baby warthog.
Predators drag their prey to a secluded place so that stronger rivals in the form of hyenas and lions do not take it away. Strong animals have a great advantage over a cheetah exhausted after a chase. He needs at least half an hour to recover. Therefore, large and cunning animals without counter resistance they snatch away the free lunch.
The cheetah never eats carrion. After their meal, if not all the meat is eaten, the animals never return, preferring a new hunt. They don't make stocks. Cheetahs stun their victims with powerful blows and then strangle them. As a rule, the chase ends at a distance of 200-300 meters. If the prey still manages to escape, the predator loses interest in it and stops pursuing it.
The cheetah is a short distance sprinter. Despite the large lungs and developed muscles, the animal gets very tired when it expends maximum energy during the chase. He never gets involved in a fight, since any wound will not allow him to hunt later. Only half of the hunting attacks are successful.
Reproduction and lifespan
During breeding, males unite in groups of 3-4 individuals to conquer new territories with females. Usually males from the same litter unite. Pregnancy of females lasts up to 95 days, 2-4 kittens are born. The babies appear completely helpless. The eyes open only after 2 weeks.
The fur of the cubs is blue-gray and long. Spotting appears later. The decoration of the crumbs is dark mane, tassel at the tip of the tail. By 4 months, these characteristic signs disappear. This is a dangerous period in the life of kittens, as they are easy prey for any predator, even among birds. During the absence of the mother, the babies behave very quietly and hide in the den.
Dairy nutrition lasts up to 8 months, later the female brings wounded animals to awaken hunting instincts. Up to a year, sometimes more, the cubs need guardianship. The male does not take part in caring for the offspring.
In nature, the life of cheetahs is 15-25 years. In zoos national parks– life span increases, but animals do not reproduce. Quality food, medical care not enough to meet the needs of animals.
Feature modeling is important natural environment, a manifestation of a special attitude towards them on the part of people. Cheetah in the photo is a graceful animal, but it’s more interesting to watch it not only in photographs, but also in natural environment.
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