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| Cheetah can run at a top speed of 120km/h for around sixty seconds. |
Cheetah are
pretty amazing. Their incredible speed, acceleration, and cornering
abilities were discussed thoroughly in Cat Fact #1, but there's
something I left out there – because Cheetahs are also very, very
smart, and very, very friendly, if they think you're worth the
friendship.
This means that
in addition to being the absolute fastest land mammal, cheetahs also
have the most playful personality of the big cats. They are trainable
in much the same way as a dog is, and have similar personalities to
dog breeds like labradors and golden retrievers. They will fetch a
thrown stick and, if they trust you, will even allow you to lead them
about by hooking a finger behind their dewteeth - which are larger
teeth in a similar position to our canines.
There are even
reported cases of rangers in Africa befriending Cheetah, and going on
to train them to help hunt poachers. On a command, they'll sprint
full-bore, and bring down the evil-doers, and you don't have to
wonder where DC got the idea for The Flash. But don't go thinking
Cheetahs are domesticatable – they'll hang out with you, but on
their turf, on their terms. Cheetah have been known to make friendly
pets for millionaires – but these are Cheetah who were born and
raised in captivity, and know nothing about the wild. And it's not
even a perfect success rate.
They may be
friendly, but they're not tame.
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