In this article about cheetah speed, I have used as a primary
source of
information, an
academic research paper published in the Journal of Mammalogy 1959.
This paper compares the running methods of the cheetah to the horse.
Although I have not referred to all of this paper. The horse is a
useful benchmark as it is an animal well known for speed
and endurance. In an update, I have also referred to a research
document, Timed
running speed of a cheetah by
N.C.C. Sharp. Access to the document was purchased from Wiley
InterScience Pay-Per-View. I discuss this research below.
A comparison therefore enlightens us as to how the cheetah is able to
run so fast, the fastest of all land animals currently. The figures for
humans also a serve a useful purpose
in making a comparison we can relate to. The horse has evolved to be a
very efficient runner, being able to run
fast and for long distances. The cheetah has evolved to be the best at
the short dash. A comparison of horse, man and cheetah (and others
animals) in terms of
speed and distance is helpful in assessing the cheetah (of all these
records
perhaps the most remarkable is that of the humble
Ass):
| Animal |
Speed
mph |
Distance
(yds) |
| Human
(male) -
2008 Usain Bolt |
30
(max) |
220 |
| Human
(male) -
2007
Haile Gebrselassie |
12.6
(average) |
46,147
(26.22
miles) |
| Horse |
43
(average) - but this is the fastest recorded (by Matthews in 1994). A
more usual speed is 36.9 |
402
meters (standing start) |
| Cheetah |
70
-
this is unverified. An accurate timing indicated 64 mph (see below) |
440
(max 600). The 64 mph
timing
was made over a 220 yard course. See below.
Running start. 64 mph is 6 mph within the max speed limit of 70 mph on
British motorways (freeways in the USA). |
| Mongolian
Wild Ass |
30
(average) |
28,000
(16
miles) |
| Domestic
cat |
30 |
400
estimate |
| Greyhound
racers |
33.5 |
race
course (from newspapers) |
| Thompsons
gazelle |
59.2 |
unreliable
timings |
We
know that the cheetah is built for speed and her survival is
dependent on this gift. That is why she lets other large predators
steal her food rather than fight for it, as it avoids injury. It is
more
efficient to chase and kill again. Apparently over a 2.5 mile chase in
1938 two mongrel dogs brought a cheetah to bay. The cheetah
rarely runs more than a
quarter mile. It's all about cheetah speed.
The
Stride
The length of stride of the cheetah is a great asset in achieving speed
as cheetah speed is a product of increased stride length and rate. The
length of stride varies with speed and performance. Although the
cheetah is a fraction of the size of a horse she covers the same amount
of ground in each stride, about 20-25 feet per stride (max about 28
feet for the cheetah). Relative to the size of the animal (measured by
shoulder
height) the cheetah stride is about twice that of the horse. The horse
completes
2.25 strides per second at
35 mph. The Cheetah completes 2.5 strides per second at 45 mph using
the "rotary gallop". There is (a) a greater period of suspension of the
body and (b) two principle suspension periods, in the stride compared
to the horse.
Cheetah
speed - Reproduced
under the terms of a license
by www.jstor.org
The
Back
Cheetah speed is also dramatically enhanced by the role of the back - a
major factor. Like other carnivores the cheetah flexes and
extends the spine
when running. This flexible spine is more noticeable in some domestic
cats, particularly the wild cat hybrids such as the Savannah
(new window). It can also
be seen in the rare Sokoke
(new window). The Bengal
is a fast runner, another
wild cat hybrid. In contrast the horse has to hold the back almost
rigid as this makes the horse's running action more efficient leading
to greater endurance (see the statistic for the Mongolian Wild Ass
above, for example).
Between the horse and the Cheetah there is a 70° difference in
the angle that the scapula makes with the pelvis during running. In the
cheetah it is 130° and in the horse it is 60°. The
large difference is due the difference in flexibility of the spine. The
scapula is the shoulder blade and is indicated in the drawings above.
It is near the neck and shoulder of the horse and cheetah. The cheetah
is a
cursorial animal (adapted to run). What advantage does a flexible spine
specifically provide?
Essentially, the flexion and extension of the spine allows the limbs to
swing more. In the horse the degree of swing is controlled by muscles
in the limbs themselves. In the cheetah limb swing is controlled by the
muscles in the limbs and back. By increasing the stride by the use of
two independent sets of muscles the cheetah increases the speed of the
stride.
The more supple spine of the cheetah also greatly increases the maximum
forward extension before the feet start their backward acceleration
prior to hitting the ground. Further, in the position of maximum
extension of the limbs they are higher than for the horse. This allows
the feet to hit the ground "running" or faster, driving the cheetah
forward with more force.
There is a high degree of co-ordination between spine flexion and the
placing of the feet on the ground to maximize drive and increase
cheetah speed. The body is at maximum extension when the body is of the
ground. This helps the front feet drive the cheetah forward more
effectively when the front feet hit the ground. Sharp "contraction" (my
words) of the spine (and body) takes place just before the front feet
contact the ground and continues until just after the leading feet
"follow through". The same co-ordination between leg drive and spine
flexion/contraction applies to the rear legs. The stride rate of the
cheetah is also faster than that of a horse because the cheetah's
smaller muscles contract more quickly.
The supple spine improves cheetah speed in another technical way. When
the forelimbs are in contact with the ground the shoulders of the
cheetah are moving 2.5 mph slower than the cat as a whole. When the
hind feet are on the ground the same can be said about the pelvis. This
reduces the required backwards speed of all four legs to drive
the cheetah forward.
Cheetah
speed. The
amount of
flexion and extension of the spine of
the Horse and Cheetah
Reproduced
under the terms of a license
granted by www.jstor.org
Cheetah
Speed - Size,
speed and endurance
Because of size, the horse needs to use muscles efficiently to
run,
as is the case. The cheetah need not be efficient as speed is the
objective. The size of the cheetah is about optimal for speed. If the
cheetah were larger the use of muscles would have to be more efficient
to conserve energy. The cheetah is not smaller than she is (smaller
would be better for endurance) because of the weight requirement to
bring down prey, primarily, plus to be more independent of terrain
irregularities and for wide vision. What though is the speed,
accurately measured. There is a lot of anecdotal evidence or plain
assessments. The truth is that on the internet there is a lot of rather
rash statements about cheetah speed. Speeds of 70 mph are frequently
quoted. In a quote of a speed of 71 mph, for example, a tame animal was
timed over a supposed course of 80 yards (73 metres) in 2.25 seconds.
However the enclosure was found to be only 65 yds (59 metres) long.
Plus in this well known example there was an error of arithmetic and
timings were imprecise (Hildebrand
1959). Another "estimate" by
Hildebrand of 56 mph was worked out
by analyzing film. NCC Sharp in his paper Timed running speed of a
cheetah (1996) used precise methods to measure speed.
The method used to accurately measure cheetah speed, can, I hope, be
summarized as follows. An adult female was the subject. She
weighed 35 kg. She was orphaned and raised on a Kenyan farm (Kenplains
Farm, Athi River, Kenya) by Dr, David Hopcroft. Although returned to
the wild she returned occasionally. On one of the return visits the
timings were conducted as follows:
- Time: between 10
and 11:30 am.
- Ground: firm and
level covered slightly with murram
dust.
- Course distance:
220 yds (201.2 metres). The course
was very carefully measured.
- Mr Sharp did the
timing using a stop watch. At the
time Mr Sharp was an athletic coach. The stop was properly calibrated.
- The cheetah made
each run from a flying start (18
metres back of the starting line). This was decided to be more accurate
as cheetahs in the wild make dashes from moving starts.
- Mr Sharp was on
a Landrover vehicle carrying flesh
for the cheetah. The cheetah was released and timed over the course
from the moving vehicle.
- Three
runs were made being timed at 7.0, 6.9 and 7.2 seconds respectively.
The average was 7.0 seconds resulting in a speed of 64 miles
per hour or 29 metres
per second.
Cheetah
Speed
as a sport
There
is no doubt that we (as humans) find the cheetah's speed fascinating
and
have converted this fascination into sporting entertainment. The
cheetah was (and perhaps still is) used in hunting. I recount a story
from the Times archive of a maharaja in India who hunted Black buck
with trained cheetah (read the story on
this page). The Black buck is
very fast (50 plus mph) but no
match for the cheetah.
No less of a sport is racing the cheetah against greyhounds in England
on dog racing tracks. Once again thanks to the Times archive a story
dated December 11th 1937
in the Times newspaper reported on the
importation of 12 cheetahs into England. They were all tamed and
behaved like domestic cats. Cheetahs it seems have a great
propensity to be domesticated and form relationships with humans very
similar to the domestic cat.
After the usual 6 months quarantine, they were raced against greyhounds
chasing a false hare. The cheetahs chased the hares, beat the
greyhounds by a mile and the dogs and cats got on like a house on fire.
I still think the whole exercise shows a lack of respect for this
animal. We should leave her alone in the wild. We just like to relate
to the cheetah on our terms or not at all.
Habitat:
The cheetah's speed is
only
effective in the right open habitat - click on cheetah
habitat to read about it.
photo © Tambako the
Jaguar
Cheetah
speed - Sources:
- Motions of the
Running Cheetah and Horse. Author
Milton Hildebrand. Source: Journal of Mammalogy, Vol 40, No.4
(Nov.1959), pages 481-495.
- Wikipedia
- Times Archive
- Timed running
speed of a cheetah by N.C.C. Sharp
(School of Physical Education and Sport, Brunel University)
Cheetah
speed - Copyright
As mentioned, at
the beginning, a large part of this
article was written with the help of a research paper in the archive of
Jstor. As I understand it, their license on the purchase of the paper
allows the individual to reproduce parts of the paper provided it is
not for commercial gain and it is an educational presentation. I
believe this page complies with the terms and conditions. If someone
disagrees please
tell me
and I'll take immediate action.
Leading photo and
photo 2nd down - published under a
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs creative commons License
--
this site is for charitable purposes in funding cat rescue - thanks.
|
|
