The Cheetah is the fastest land mammal and by a good amount. It is nature’s speed machine, and every part of its body has to work together to achieve such a speed. A cheetah can reach a top speed of 64 miles per hour. For perspective, in second place is the Greyhound at 43 miles per hour, a racehorse reaches about 40 miles per hour, and Usain Bolt’s top speed was 28 miles per hour.
In fact, the cheetah is so fast that it can even be compared to some of the fastest cars as opposed to just other animals. The Cheetah can go from 0-60 miles per hour in just 3 seconds. That is one-tenth of a second faster than a Ferrari Enzo, and almost as fast as a Porsche 911 Turbo S, which goes 0-60 in 2.7 seconds. Every part of a cheetah’s body is in sync in order to achieve this top speed and acceleration. The cheetah’s lungs and heart are both 3 times the size of a lion’s, while their paws are not much bigger than the paws of a standard dog. Their tail helps with balance and their spine flexibility allows for longer, stretched-out strides.
On top of their speed, a cheetah can see detail up to 3 miles away. One reason for their superior eyesight is the dark stripes under their eyes which help to reduce glare from the Sun. It is the same reason why football players put eye black on under their eyes.
