CHEETAHS
Fast, but rarely flat out
Across 367 tracked runs by wild cheetahs in Botswana, the average top speed was 14.9 m/s, well short of the 29 m/s recorded in captivity. Acceleration and braking mattered more.
See the numbersStart
WHAT THE TRACKING STUDIES SHOW
It is not just
about speed.
The fastest runner does not always win.
Researchers fitted wild cheetahs, lions, zebras, impalas and African wild dogs with tracking collars and filmed dragonflies at high speed. The results show chases are won by acceleration, braking and turns, and lost by prey that dodge at the right moment.
BRAKE AND TURNthe hidden skills
Compare huntersKeep in mind
- Acceleration beats top speed
- Slow chases favour prey
- Many short tries add up
- How chases are really decided
THE SHORT ANSWER
Chases are won
in the turns.
Tracking collars and high-speed cameras
show three very different ways to catch a meal.
WILD DOGS
Many short tries
A collared pack of six wild dogs made 1,119 chases, with a median chase of about 324 m. Most failed, but the energy from hunting and feeding as a group outweighed the cost of the chases.
Compare hunters
DRAGONFLIES
The near-perfect hunter
In an outdoor study of dragonflies hunting fruit flies, each insect's median daily success rate was 83% to 95%. The flies rarely tried to dodge.
How prey escapeA QUICK HUNTER CHECK
How often does
the chase pay off?
Pick a hunter to see how often a chase ends in a catch in the studies below. The bar shows the success rate, from low to high.
Success rates are from single study sites and differ by habitat, prey and how a kill is counted.
TWO NUMBERS WORTH KNOWING
Real hunts are slower,
but the brakes are brutal.
One figure on how fast wild cheetahs really run,
one on how predators out-stop their prey.
14.9 m/s
Average top speed in tracked hunts
Five collared cheetahs in Botswana reached top speeds of 20.1 to 25.9 m/s over 367 runs, but most hunts were at moderate speeds, averaging a top speed of 14.9 m/s.
WILD CHEETAHS · 2013 STUDY
72% better
Predators' extra braking power
Comparing cheetahs with impalas and lions with zebras, the predators were 38% faster, 37% better at accelerating and 72% better at decelerating than their prey.
PREDATOR VS PREY · RVC 2018
The same collar study found cheetah acceleration power of up to 120 watts per kilogram, about double that of the swiftest greyhounds.
HOW PREY FIGHT BACK
Slow down,
then dodge.
If predators are faster and stronger, how does prey ever escape? The tracking studies point to a few tactics, and to their limits.
Step 1
Keep the chase slow
Simulations from the RVC study showed that hunts at lower speeds let prey use their full turning ability, favouring survival.
Step 2
Turn at the last moment
At slower speeds prey have more options to dodge and change direction, which makes them harder to follow.
Step 3
Make the predator brake
Every sharp turn forces the hunter to slow down and accelerate again, which is why braking and acceleration matter so much.
Step 4
React at all
Fruit flies chased by dragonflies rarely made evasive moves, and were rarely successful at escaping.
THE ARMS RACE
Predators must stay
a step ahead.
Royal Veterinary College researchers collared five cheetahs, nine lions, seven zebras and seven impalas in northern Botswana and tested their muscle fibres. Predator muscle was about 20% more powerful than their prey's.
Their simulations suggest a predator has to be more athletic than its prey just to keep a workable success rate, because prey can always slow the chase down and turn.
Questions
Questions on the way
How fast can a cheetah run?
Captive cheetahs running in a straight line have reached up to 29 metres per second, nearly 105 km/h. Wild cheetahs tracked during hunts in Botswana peaked at 20.1 to 25.9 m/s.
Do cheetahs always run at full speed when hunting?
No. In 367 tracked runs, most hunts involved moderate speeds, with an average top speed of 14.9 m/s. Acceleration, braking and quick turns were central to their success.
Why do African wild dogs hunt in packs?
A study of a collared pack found each dog's chases mostly failed, but several dogs hunting at once raised the pack's kill rate, and sharing food made frequent short chases worth the energy.
What is the most successful predator?
Dragonflies are among the most successful measured. In one study, dragonflies hunting fruit flies had median daily success rates of 83% to 95%.
How do zebras and impalas escape?
Research on lions, zebras, cheetahs and impalas found slower chases favour prey, because prey can then use their full ability to dodge and change direction.
Destination
Where the facts come from
- Scientific American (Nature News): Speed test devised for wild cheetahs (2013)
- Royal Veterinary College: RVC research sheds light on predator/prey movement (2018)
- PMC: Energy cost and return for hunting in African wild dogs and cheetahs, Nature Communications (2016)
- University of Birmingham: New study reveals hunting strategy of African wild dogs (2016)
- Harvard DASH: Linking biomechanics and ecology through predator-prey interactions, Journal of Experimental Biology (2012)
Updated