One of the fastest mammals on earth and one of Africa’s most beautiful feline’s, the Cheetah is a beautiful animal to come across in the wild and if you’re lucky enough to see it hunt, it will be one of your most exciting safari experiences.

Here’s a few fun Cheetah facts to impress your safari loving buddies with.

1. An adult Cheetah has a better acceleration then a sports car

   These incredibly streamlined felines, the whippets of the cat world, have been recorded going from standstill to 70km/h in just 2 seconds! However, it can only maintain this type of speed for around 500m. Cheetah’s are the sprinters of the cat family and although incredibly quick tire out just as quickly. Their thin frames and small heads help them with aerodynamics while their long tail helps steer them as they change direction at incredible speed.

   
   

2. Cheetah cubs look like honey badgers

   It’s largely debated as to whether cheetah cubs have evolved to devolop this close resemblance to one of Africa’s most ferocious animals or whether its just coincidence but cheetah cubs up to 3 months old have a mantle of long grey fur which closely resembles that of a honey badger. The honey badger is well known in the savanna for its strength and ferocity, they will fearlessly attack any animal that tries to prey on it no matter the size and barely can an animal bite get through its incredibly tough skin. Therefore this fortunate simalarity means that predators think twice about investigating closer when they see that familiar mantle.

   
   

3. Cheetah’s purr like house cats

   Cheetah’s can make a variety of sounds from barking to growling and chirping almost birdlike. They are also the only ‘big’ cat to purr similar to a house cat. It is believed that they use this loud, deep purring sound when reconnecting with another cheetah in a friendly encounter.

   Purring like domestic cats requires a certain set of delicate bones running from the base of the skull to the feline tongue which cheetah have, this also allows them to make the meow like sound of the house cat.

   
   

4. In the Masai Mara cheetah’s are known to jump on top of the cars

   Cheetah’s love to find high vantage points around the savannah to watch for prey. Often these are the large termite mounds dotted around, sometimes these are on top of the very safari car you are sat in.

   In the Masai Mara they have adapted to use the safari trucks to their advantage either for a look out spot or on occasions to escape larger animals such as lions or hyena.

   Don’t worry though, as long as you follow your guides advice you can enjoy the surreal closeness without any danger.

   
   

5. Young Cheetah love to play

   As with many young cats, cheetah love to play. Joy Adamson, famous for raising Elsa the lion, described the spirited way in which young cheetah played games. She mainly observed them stalking, pouncing, chasing, boxing, wrestling and playing tug-of-war.

   Like domestic dogs, when playing they run with their tails raised. They have also been observed climbing trees and playing king-of-the-mound.

   The most common type of play is practicing what will one day be their finely tuned hunting skills. Starting at around 3 months they chase and swat at each others hindquarters, in adulthood this will be how they bring down prey.