Why is the cheetah so quick?
IT'S the fastest animal on earth. And now scientists want to discover how the cheetah manages to reach such speed.
Researchers from the Royal Veterinary College at Whipsnade Zoo are currently using high-speed cameras and a specially adapted running track to study a group of North African cheetahs.
Using tasty morsels of chicken that are attached to a piece of fast-moving string, the cheetahs are made to sing for their supper as they pursue the food around their enclosure as it is pulled along by an electric motor.
As the hungry cats give chase, four high-speed cameras that record 1,000 frames per second capture their every move, while high-tech plates embedded within the running track are able to measure all the forces going through their legs.
Penny Hudson, a PhD student at RVC said: We really don't know what it is about cheetahs that make them run so fast - it might be their flexible spines, or it might be their shoulder blades, it could be that they stretch their legs a bit more, but hopefully the data will unravel some of those mysteries."
Cheetahs are capable of reaching natural speeds of at least 64mph within seconds – a speed that is unrivalled in both the animal and human kingdom.
Usain Bolt, who broke a record when he ran 100m in 9.69 seconds in last year’s Olympics, only managed an average speed of around 23mph.