Cheetahs can reach their top speed of 70mph in just three seconds, but can maintain such velocity only for short bursts of around 300 yards.
At full speed, their stride can be as long as 21 ft.
Although the cheetah is the fastest animal on land, the fastest animal is the peregrine falcon, which can reach up to 240mph.
The cheetah has a long, muscular tail which, at speed, functions like a rudder on a boat, controlling steering and balance.
The cheetah is in danger of extinction, wildlife experts have warned.
The Zoological Society of London wants the world's fastest land animal to be given endangered status along with tigers and Asian elephants, after estimating that just over 7,000 remain globally.
The spotted big cats, which can reach speeds of up to 70mph, are now believed to live on only 9 per cent of the land they once occupied.
They are being illegally traded as exotic pets, overhunted and killed for bushmeat. They are also losing their habitat to humans.
A study by the ZSL, the Wildlife Conservation Society and conservation organisation Panthera, says Asian cheetah populations have been hit hardest, with fewer than 50 individuals remaining in one isolated pocket in Iran. There may also be some in a few areas of the Indian subcontinent.
More than half of the world's cheetahs live across six countries in southern Africa.
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