The cheetah is able to reach speeds of up to 80 miles per hour for short bursts. It can accelerate from 0 to 45 miles per hour in 2 seconds and can maintain its top speed for only about 300 yards. A cheetah's running stride can reach up to 23 feet. Also, the cheetahs are the only members of the big cat family that cannot roar. Instead they purr like house cats, especially when grooming or resting together.
Cheetahs can make many different sounds that include purrs, barks, growls, hisses, and chirps.
They can even mimic some bird sounds, perhaps to attract them. It also features the African Warthogs and Bongos. There are two cheetah yards, where there are tall trees and grass with hills that is the animals' natural preference for grassland or woodland as its habitat. To the east of the cheetahs are the bongos and to the west are the warthogs. The three photographs at the top of the page are of cheetahs at the Fort Worth Zoo.