ready for my pedicure
All of you know now that the cheetah is the world’s fastest land mammal, able to run up over 65 mph. Cheetahs accomplished this by becoming specialists, and their specialty is speed. This makes them unique among other cats and some people even think they are even a little bit dog-like, but more on that later.
In order to be so fast, cheetahs have to be taller and leaner than most cats. This means they can’t catch the large prey (like adult zebra and buffalo) that other cats eat. It also means they can’t stand up to lions and hyenas who try to steal their food or even attack them. This makes their personality a little different too. Cheetahs are much more timid than other cats, usually opting flight over fight when faced with a confrontation.
But now on to today’s cool cheetah adaptation. Other cats have retractable claws, meaning they can extend the claws when they need them and retract them out of the way when they don’t. If you’ve ever played with a house cat, you’ve likely seen both options (hopefully without requiring first aid).