The Cheetah

Fastest land mammal on the face of the earth. Possessing the ability to accelerate from zero to 40 miles per hour in just three strides, and reach 70 miles per hour in seconds. At full speed, cheetahs can cover 20 to 25 feet in a single stride. How is it that this creature can reach such phenomenal speeds?

The answer is incredibly simple. They were made in a special way.

The anatomy of a cheetah is really quite incredible. Looking at a cheetah’s eyes, we learn that they are positioned to provide the animal with maximum binocular vision. Also, the retinal fovea of it’s eye is an elongated shape, giving the animal a very sharp, wide-angle view.

The cheetah’s spine is entirely flexible giving it full range to curve up and down, allowing the hip and shoulder girdles to swivel freely. This free running motion permits the cheetah to bring its hind legs all the way forward past its front legs in mid-stride.

Believe it or not, the cheetah would be destitute without it’s tail. The tail acts as a rudder stabilizing the cheetah while running, counteracting its body weight and preventing it from rolling over and spinning out on high-speed turns.

Moving on to the paws, we see that the cheetah is the only cat with non-retractable claws. This basically provides them with the world’s best-known pair of cleats, which would come in handy when making a sharp turn at 70 mph. 

Finally a cheetah’s respiratory rate climbs from 60 to upwards of 200 breaths per minute while running at full speed. In fact, a cheetah has to rest after a very short period of full speed running or it can damage its brain. Amazingly, the cheetah was provided with an enlarged heart, liver, and arteries giving it the ability to keep from passing out while chasing down dinner at warp speed.

It's a good thing that when the big bang started the world millions of years ago that this single particular creature was randomly given these single, particular, minute features so that it could survive.

Yeah...right.

The cheetah is one of many creatures that virtually sings of a creator. Praise God for His Omniscience in creating all creatures with the exact characteristics they need in order to live!