<\/a><\/p>\n

It is the middle of the week and I am still feeling a little sluggish (I think I need to start drinking coffee) so I thought it might help me if I wrote about the fastest land animal.\u00a0 We will see if the cheetah is able to inspire me to get moving and become a bit more productive this week.<\/p>\n

I believe most people know that the cheetah is to the cat world what Usain Bolt (come on people, the crazy fast sprinter!) is to humans.\u00a0 So how come the cheetah is so much faster than anything else? Is it because they have four legs to run on? In a little experiment, I tried running on all four legs but my speed was nowhere near the 120 km\/h (75 mph) that the cheetah obtains.\u00a0 The only thing this experiment accomplished was to amuse the passerby’s watching me run in circles in my front yard on all fours.<\/p>\n

All right, I know the suspense is getting to you so I will share the secret of achieving cheetah speed.\u00a0 It all has to do with the way cheetah’s are built.\u00a0 Yep, it is their anatomy that allows them to run so fast.\u00a0 I am pretty sure you all suspected that so I guess I should go into a little more detail.\u00a0 I guess we can start with their legs since it seems like a logical place to start.\u00a0 I want everyone to look and feel their shoulder.\u00a0 Are you looking at it? Good, see how it is a socket like system? Well, a cheetah does not have shoulders like humans.\u00a0 Their shoulders are held by very strong muscles. When you add this to a very flexible skeleton it gives the cheetah’s legs a larger range of motion which in turn increases its stride.\u00a0 The cheetah’s stride may be as long as 23 feet. As well, the spine of a cheetah acts like a spring, not quite like a slinky but similar, which allows the cheetah to have explosive bursts. All right, so we know they have strong leg muscles and a springing, slinky spine but how can they breathe so easily while running at great speeds.\u00a0 I am panting and wheezing just thinking about running so clearly I don’t have the same adaptations as the cheetah.<\/p>\n

The cheetah has enlarged nostrils which allow for a greater intake of oxygen.\u00a0 As well, their lungs and hearts are also larger which works together like an well oiled machine to circulate that additional oxygen.\u00a0 In order to have some traction while running like the wind, the cheetah has semi-retractable claws (your typical house cat has fully retractable claws, but don’t tell your couch cushions that). This type of claw system allows for greater grip and ultimately more control.\u00a0 I know this post is getting long but I also wanted to let you know that the cheetah will also use its tail as a rudder to help steer itself during a chase.<\/p>\n

All right, this post is just about finished.\u00a0 One last cheetah fast fact and I will let you get on with your day.<\/p>\n

Cheetah Fast Fact: <\/strong>A cheetah can only maintain its top speed for about 30 seconds and rarely longer than a minute.\u00a0 They are able to accelerate from 0 to 110 km\/h (68 mph) in 3 seconds.\u00a0 Not only do they accelerate\u00a0 faster than my truck but faster than most supercars.<\/p>\n

Thanks for reading and I will see you again tomorrow.\u00a0 Have a great day!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It is the middle of the week and I am still feeling a little sluggish (I think I need to start drinking coffee) so I thought it might help me if I wrote about the fastest land animal.\u00a0 We will see if the cheetah is able to inspire me to get moving and become a bit more productive this week. I believe most people know that the cheetah is to the cat world what Usain Bolt (come on people, the crazy fast sprinter!) is to humans.\u00a0 So how come the cheetah is so much faster than anything else? Is it <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":563,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[60,4024],"tags":[348,154,4026,4025,155,156],"yoast_head":"\n