Wild Cheetahs Rely More on Acceleration and Agility to Hunt, Not Speed

Cheetahs are well known for chasing down their prey in a well-shot, zipping documentary sequence, but new research shows that in the wild, it's the big cat's acceleration and agility that make it such a dazzling hunter, not its speed.

"Cheetahs don't actually go very fast when they're hunting," said lead author on the study detailing the findings Dr. Alan M. Wilson in a New York Times report. "The hunt is much more about maneuvering, about acceleration, about ducking and diving to capture the prey."

Cheetahs in captivity have been recorded at speeds nearing a blazing 70 miles per hour, but precise speed measurements of wild cheetahs have been hard to come by. In order to glean this important bit of data, the team of researchers developed a special collar that uses GPS and inertia calculations to determine how a creature moves. After testing it out on some dogs, the scientists took the project into the heart of Botswana, where they sedated and collared five wild cheetahs.

The results were surprising. The top recorded speed was a mere 58 miles per hour, and most of the creatures hunted at speeds much lower. What was more important was how well these cats were adapted to various hunting scenarios.

"It is remarkable," says evolutionary biologist David Carrier from the University of Utah. "Both agility and maneuverability turn out to be at least as important to these animals as speed."

Cheetahs demonstrated an acceleration capability twice that of the fastest greyhounds in the world and four times human fireball Usain Bolt. They were also able to absorb the deceleration three times better than polo horses.

You can view a video detailing the accelerometer, horizontal speed trace and position profile of a successful hunt here.

The wide range of physical capabilities, the study says, gives wild cheetahs an impressive hunting ability both out on open terrain, and even in dense brush.

"We have always thought of cheetahs as sprinters, but now it looks as though sprinting is only part of the story," says Wilson.

You can read the full published study in the journal Nature.